The Dark Knight's Crusade
by LookIntoTheAbyss
Summary: A blend of Nolan-Batman with Justice League. After a bitter departure from the Justice League, Bruce sees a day when Gotham no longer needs Batman. The Dark Knight must fight off the appearance of a new threat, the Joker - who threatens to undermine all progress- and juggle the emotional problems that arise when a woman from an abandoned relationship reappears in his life.
1. Expulsion

The Watchtower was quiet. Eerie quiet. Batman's footsteps echoed ominously throughout the halls as he made his way toward the meeting. There was heaviness to his posture, his shoulders rigid and his footsteps both harsh and purposeful— he might have been bearing the world on his shoulders. He opened the door to the meeting, and was greeted by the silent faces of the League.

Batman stood still at the door way, looking at the aftermath of his choice: Flash was nursing a bandaged forearm and wrist, where an explosive had been bolted onto; John sat quietly, rubbing his Green Lantern ring while his eyes were closed—his mind, undoubtedly, still fighting off the lingering effects of Jonathan Crane's fear toxin; J'onn, the Martian, sat stone-faced and rubbed his hands together methodically, his green-hued skin showing the faintest signs of charcoal black from the flames that engulfed him a few days prior.

Superman, however, didn't have so much as a scratch, despite the fact that he recently escaped certain death by way of a kryptonite bullet that had been fatally lodged into his chest—it must be nice to possess a handy healing factor.

Batman looked at the final person, the person that held his gaze the longest. Like Superman, she looked completely unscathed. She was sitting down, gently twirling a small strand of her lengthy and vibrant black hair, her eyes intently focused on the table in front of her. She didn't show the slightest reaction to Batman's entrance, and proved even more oblivious to his lingering stare—her eyes remained firmly on the table. After what seemed an eternity, Batman tore his eyes away, walking toward his seat while his logical-driven mind went to war with his emotional-driven subconscious.

His actions were perfectly valid, surely they realized that? It wasn't his intention to hurt them; he didn't go out of his way to purposely harm them. He just wanted to be sure. He always _had _to be sure. Nothing left to chance. Nothing left to trust. Nothing left to hope. That was his mantra, his _modus operandi_ (as his father used to say). On countless missions and operations, whenever he would do something unorthodox or "not according to protocol", he'd be forgiven, regardless of how serious an infringement or breach.

This time, however, Batman knew he had gone too far—in _their _eyes, that is—he crossed a moral boundary in which they couldn't cast aside.

But, unsurprisingly, he didn't care.

That's who he was; the outcast and the freak; the one who could make the hard choices; the one who flitted along the shades of grey; the one who didn't get to come home to a wife and kids; the one who didn't get to call in sick; the one whose head was damn heavy from wearing the crown of Gotham's Protector.

He sat down into his seat—slightly distanced from everyone else—making no motion to greet or even acknowledge anyone else around him. He sat down in his chair, his fingers in a steeple. He waited.

Clearing his voice, Superman stood up and addressed the table.

"Now that all members are here, it is time to go over the events that have transpired. Following our recent attack by Vandal and company, we, fortunately, emerged victorious. And yet..." he looked around uneasily, glancing quickly at everyone's faces.

"and yet we suffered..._unprecedented _damages. We gained clear insight onto how delicate our organization is when precarious information falls into the wrong hands."

The members all glanced darkly upon one another, _unprecedented _was an underestimate. Never before had they been so close to death—so broken and defeated as their enemies showed new appetites for cruelty and savagery, exposing their weaknesses to the pitiless extent...

Batman, however, sat indifferent to silent exchanges around him, his gaze unsettlingly rigid on Superman.

"In light of the recent events," continued Superman. "I believe it is imperative that we review the evidence on how this information was obtained, what party obtained in, for what purpose, and, finally..." Superman's gaze briefly flickered over Batman, "...how it came into the possession our enemies."

He never said "Batman", but he never had to—everyone present at that table knew who it was who had kept logs on their abilities and weaknesses; who kept to himself and trusted no one; who designed extremely effective (and secretive) incapacitating contingencies. Not for personal benefit, he assured them after Vandal attacked, but it was just in case something happened_...just in case..._

Batman's stoic demeanor reached historic levels; remaining completely still despite the less-than-obvious silent acknowledgments around him. The members all quietly listened and watched as evidence was brought forward. They traced the information backwards, from one villain to another, finally culminating in the database christened "The Batcomputer", at which everyone, as if they had just finally solved the long and complex mystery, as if they had finally gained permission, turned and stared directly at Batman.

He never even blinked.

The members looked at him with anger and uproar, the revelation of the "Batcomputer" seemingly giving them the needed confidence; they scowled at him, sneered at him, and shook their heads at him. They were all perfectly justified in doing so, of course—not even for a second, did Batman believe he was morally justified.

This was an outcome he long ago accepted as a possibility when he developed his contingencies. Of course, he never did expect it to become a reality.

He knew his "betrayal" would sting, and he expected equal retribution.

But, in the midst of all the passionate emotions, there was something else mingled in the stares of hate and anger... something that would have gone unnoticed to anyone...anyone except a person with the extraordinary (and bleak) experiences of Bruce Wayne.

_Fear. _

Oh yes, Batman was well-versed in this particular emotion. After all, it was he who had fallen into an endless black void of that well, helpless and alone; he, who had lost his parents to the very people they were trying to help; he, who had traveled the world, searching desperately to understand the criminal mind; he, who had spent a decade under the cruel tutelage of Ra's Al-Ghul and The League of Shadows; he, who returned to a filthy cesspool of crime and corruption; he, who spent his nights living among the dead and mutilated victims of Gotham's underworld; he, who would wake up from restless sleep, drenched in sweat, revisiting that night all those years ago.

He knew why they were fearful of him—they weren't paralyzed by that fear, oh no, they could easily kill him if they took the time to plot it out—Batman wasn't a fool; yes, he was trained in extremely deadly arts; yes, he was blessed with genius level intellect; yes, he was capable of feats that would catapult him into the top tiers of human achievement...

But he was mortal, and they were gods.

Well most of them were. Lantern and Flash were humans, but even they, if they put their utmost effort into it...

Yet, they were fearful of him because, despite his knack for contingencies for everything, he never even showed the slightest signs of deceit or abnormality; no awkward conversations, no guilty looks, no suspicious activity...nothing. After all, he _had_ learned from the best. Ra's Al Ghul, the master of stealth and deceit.

Guilt, sadness, love, hate...no emotion ever passed the Cowl, even if he might have been strangled by it.

"Batman" said Flash, breaking through the silence. "I understand why you might have felt this was necessary, but...We're your friends—aren't we? I thought we could all trust each other..."

"Agreed" said John. "I thought we could talk about these things. I see us as family, one that's been through hell and back—we could have worked an arrangement out."

"I would have readily told you about ways to stop me Batman" John stated matter-of-factually. "Although your inevitable research on Martians would lead you to the same conclusion."

"We ARE a family" said Superman, frustration now seeping into his voice, "Family doesn't do this Batman, we all would have told you about our weaknesses and abilities—_together _we could have designed contingencies on how to stop us, because we trust each other. I trust Flash not to rob a bank, I trust John NOT to kill people, I trust J'onn NOT to invade my mind, I trust Diana NOT to bind me in her Lasso, I trusted YOU not to stab us in the back!"

Batman said nothing, Ra's brutal methods for masking emotions worked too well. He was considering a pointed and succinct reply when Diana spoke up.

"How could you do this to us?" she whispered. "We thought..._I_ thought...that you were our friend..._my _friend."

Batman almost winced as a sharp pang of guilt seared through him, like an icy cold blade jutting deep into his ribs. The pain never reached his face, but it was surely there, it hurt...more than he cared to admit... he couldn't lie to himself, there _had _been times when the two of them bonded close...closer than anyone he let in before...

"Do you have anything to say Batman?" Superman stated, bringing him out of his thoughts. "In your defense?"

Batman didn't reply. He merely sat still, his gaze locked. Diana spoke again.

"We're going to vote Batman, please...say something" she pleaded softly.

Her words seemed to work. Batman spoke up, his head bowed as if delivering a eulogy.

"I...I'm not ashamed of what I did" he began slowly. "The power in this room is incredible. Should we lose respect for that power or lose our principles—we're only a hairline away from becoming what we fight against. We are all the heroes of our own crusades; the villains we fight truly believe that they are doing the right thing. Should any of you fall into that void, who would stop you? The better question is—who _could _stop you?"

Nobody answered; they all stared at him, repugnant at what he was suggesting.

Batman went over what the rest of what he had planned to say to them—he'd be kicked out, of course. They couldn't keep a member who operated like he did, they would clash and fight like a lone wolf amongst the pack.

He looked at his fellow members faces, and, just as he expected, he saw flashes of betrayal, disappointment, and anger. At Diana's face, however, he saw something else—the anger, disappointment and betrayal were there, no doubt—but underneath the rage, there was a glint of sorrow in her eyes, disappointment.

Batman insides squirmed with guilt, he had seen that same look only once before. It was on Alfred's face the night Bruce told him he didn't care about his name...about being a Wayne.

"How could you not trust us Batman?" said Diana, bringing him out of the memory, a faint tone of hurt in her voice. "How could you ever think that we would—that we even _could—_do the things that you're suggesting? That I would change my ways? How could you not trust us? We're your friend...I'm your friend."

The other members winced at this, Superman looked away, John continued to play with his ring, J'onn closed his eyes, and Flash looked down at the table, hanging his head.

They all had long suspected something between the two, and the hurt in Diana's voice proved it.

"You're not my friend" snarled Batman.

All the color drained from Diana's face.

"I don't trust anyone...I can't trust anyone." Batman growled, now rising from the table. "I can't sacrifice my principles, not for _you _or anyone in this room—no one!"

More shocked faces. The rest of the League didn't even try to hide their concern, they all turned to Diana, who looked like as if she might have been stabbed.

"I don't have the luxury of friends. I did what I had to because it was necessary. Had I come to you and devised those contingencies with your collaboration, they would be useless as you would expect them. I had to make sure you had no idea—that they would be effective!"

"We never went behind your back!" fumed John, abandoning amiability. "Never betrayed your trust!"

"Then you're a fool." Batman said coldly. "Fools who only see the good in people."

The sound of metal grating against metal screeched throughout the room as Superman leapt to his feet, throwing his chair behind him without concern. "Fools are we!?" he demanded, his face livid. "Fools that could break your neck with as much effort as blinking? Fools that could decimate your _entire _city at will? Fools that could—"

"My point, exactly." Batman said testily, his own anger rising. "You've just said it yourself—what _is_ stopping you from decimating cities at will? From realizing just how easy it would be for you to murder and steal?"

Diana stared at him, her eyes wide and horrified. "How could you even _suggest_ that we would...?"

"Because it's so easy, dammit!" Batman shouted. "It's so damn _easy _to just give in! You—all of you!—don't know the half of it! You've never had to get your hands dirty—you don't know what it's like out there! It's not about who is right and who's wrong—!"

"Batman" said Superman irritably. "We never said that it wasn't easy—"

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW!" roared Batman, abandoning all restraint. "IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE!"

They all jumped instinctively—John's ring began to exude a bursting green light.

"_John_" said Diana warningly, "Don't."

"Sorry," he said, never taking his eyes off Batman. "It reacts like that whenever it senses a hostile situation."

"Oh, what would give it that impression?" Flash muttered, eyeing Superman and Batman nervously.

"My planet was destroyed Batman..._my people_ were destroyed!" Superman said firmly. "I'm an alien, for crying out loud! Don't you think that would have been enough to send me over the edge? To decide that Earth was a planet right for my taking?"

"You lost your home with the explosion of your planet and people, Superman" said Batman without compassion. "Earth was the one place that you felt somewhat accepted—you wouldn't have jeopardized that in any way. That doesn't mean you won't turn, the easiest way to someone is through their emotions—matter-of-fact, your prolonged life-span would assure that; you'd go insane over the years, watching all of your mortal friends perish and die, while you stay young."

"_Really_!?" Diana hissed, glowering at him from across the table. "I have lived for hundreds of years already—and you do not see me ready to—!"

"Because you have not experienced the emotional turmoil that I speak of—such as the death of a loved one" Batman said coolly.

"_I haven't seen the death of a loved one..." _breathed Diana, rising up from the table, looking thunderous. "How could you—_how dare you say that to me!_"

Except for Batman, whose posture never wavered, everyone around the table flinched at her shriek.

"I have seen the deaths of _thousands _of warriors in Battle!" she said powerfully, "I have cradled the dead bodies of sisters— woman I've known since _birth _in my arms_. _I've looked into the eyes of dying warriors and watched the light die out! I've seen the horrors of war, Batman—unrestrained and horrible war! I've heard the cries and the screams, I've seen it all...so don't you go accusing me of ignorance!"

"You did not love the women that you've seen die, Diana." snapped Batman.

Diana's face contorted with rage, "You have no idea of the things you speak—"

"You respected them" he said brusquely, continuing as if he hadn't heard her. "You respected them as warriors, as equals. You, however, did not love them; the emotion of _love _is not something that an immortal Amazon princess, who comes from an isolated island that has banned men from entering, would know about—Have you ever been in love?" he asked bluntly.

"I—I..." sputtered Diana, thrown off-guard at his argument. "..I...of course I have..."

"The answer is no." he said flatly. "You know nothing about caring and the feeling of loss that comes with it."

Diana scoffed, "My mother—!"

"—Is the immortal Queen." Batman finished primly, "And as a result, she does not fight—not out of cowardice!" he added quickly at the look of murderous rage on Diana's face. "She does not fight because she's the Queen, thus, no harm has come to her, and there lies my point!"

"What I speak of is alien to your people, and as a result, you've never felt the pang or the torment...It is something that can only be felt during a specific time between a husband and wife, mother and her child—between a father and his children."

For a fleeting moment, Batman felt a rising surge of anger toward her, jealousy—and then it was gone, replaced by his familiar neutral mask.

"And what time is that?" Diana asked skeptically.

"Death" Batman said simply "The death of someone you truly care about. Under the right circumstance, it is enough to turn you around—enough to turn anyone around."

"And you would know?" Diana asked, sounding highly curious now.

"_That" _Batman said shortly, "Is none of your concern."

"Right" she said, "So you're just going to blindly accuse us of our eventual moral downfalls without any actual evidence—you do know what evidence is, don't you? It's the stuff you use to prove your point."

"I don't need to prove _anything_" he snapped, "Especially not to _you_—a woman who is so thick and stupid she can't even understand a basic human emotion!"

"_I can't understand a basic human emotion!?__!_" Diana said indignantly, shooting up from her seat. " I suggest you analyze yourself before you go accusing me of emotional ignorance. You stand there, accusing all of us of crimes that you say are _inevitable—_I left my home—I left my people—my _family— _so I could do some good, so I can fight for the things worth fighting for! _What have you done!?_"

Diana's chest was heaving, her hair wild, and she was glaring straight at Batman—who wasn't giving her any ground, he was giving her the harshest glare he could muster.

Everyone else, John, Superman, Flash and J'onn, were all looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes, purposely keeping quiet as to avoid getting mixed into the cross fire of the scorching gazes between Batman and Diana.

"I suppose you think that gives you special-privileges," Batman said venomously. "Perhaps you believe that the world will refrain bringing you any harm or unhappiness: 'Oh no, the princess has already undergone far too much misery, after all, she left a world of immortals where people cannot age and suffer, where she never experienced hunger or despair. She left that cruel paradise of happiness and wealth and came to fight evil in Man's world—we cannot _possibly_ allow anymore harm to come to such a _selfless_ and troubled individual.'"

"And of _you_!" she spat. "A man who flits in and out of the shadows, who is too stupid to accept help and whose arrogance is so unrivaled that he assumes nobody else could _possibly_ be up to the insurmountable task of looking after _one _city!"

"You all would be flailed alive if you even spent one _minute _in Gotham—!"

"_Oh yes_!" she laughed, "It completely slipped my mind that our combined abilities of flight, strength, and speed would be completely useless in Gotham's criminal underworld!" She turned to face the rest of the table, "I'm sorry, Superman, Flash, Lantern, and J'onn!" she said shouted sadly, her voice dripping in sarcasm "It looks like we aren't up to the task of handling _one mortal city! _What, with all those guns and knives!? What could we do!? How could we _ever _fathom to do what _The Dark Knight _does on a regular—!"

Batman slammed his fists viciously on the table.

"_YOU'RE NOT UP TO THE TASK!" _he roared, "NONE OF YOU ARE! It's not about catching the bad guy and shipping him off to jail! You've never had to examine the corpse of a woman raped to death—never had to piece together a butchered body—never had to watch scum and trash play the legal system and watch them walk away innocent—_never had to tell a child that mom and dad weren't coming home today!"_

"And _you_ have!?" she shrieked, her voice painfully shrill, "_You_—someone with the emotional capacity of teaspoon—have knelt down and told a child gently and soothingly that their parents are dead!? Oh yes I can see it now! 'Sorry kid. Your parents are dead. Cheer Up.'"

"You wouldn't—you have no idea what—"

"Because that's why you do it, isn't it!? You can't be happy—you haven't got anyone: no friends, no family, nothing! Your own parents must be sick of you! That's why you never let us into Gotham; you don't want to be smuggled out of all the precious opportunities to bring despair into people's lives!"

"I—I—" Batman sputtered, the memories of that night resurfacing and suffocating:...the gun...the screams...the blood-stained pearls...

"Oh, did I hit a nerve_!?_" she shouted, sounding close to tears. "It's nice to know that you can actually _feel_ something! Maybe now you can understand how much it stings when somebody you care about hurts you!"

Diana let out a restrained sob and began quietly crying in front of him..

Batman opened his mouth to speak and then closed it—for the first time, in quite a long time; he was at a complete loss for words. He stood there, feeling very much out-of-place. Slowly he turned and walked away—leaving a very silent and awkward exchange behind him: Flash, Superman, Lantern, and J'onn all hastily (and quietly) trying to decide on the next course of action. All of them determinedly avoiding the gaze of a particular member.

His boots echoed again against the floor, _thud thud thud..._

He stopped again under the doorway, waiting there quietly with his back turned to them.

After a moment, he spoke quietly, his voice carrying by the sheer silence in the room. "I wish none of you were hurt, I didn't want it. But if I had to decide again; I would not hesitate. You are all blessed with extraordinary powers—powers that I couldn't let that go unchecked."

He turned around, his eyes determinedly avoiding Diana—in his peripherals, she appeared as a blur.

"You think I'm weak, that my mistrust of everyone is a sign of foolishness and idiocy, but you're wrong. I can't _just_ take your word for it—as easy and as much as I might want to—because the world isn't that simple. You start trusting people to look out for you—and you start getting hurt, and people start dying. I need to expect the worst, because that is the ONE THING you can expect out of people."

Batman took a deep breath, his mind was made up.

"You can keep your vote, I resign" he said without heat. "I will continue to fund the League for another six months, as well as leave the equipment." He nodded slightly. "It's been a pleasure."

"You're leaving?" Superman asked, his eyebrows arched. "Wouldn't that be a big hole in the 'keeping an eye over us' plan?"

"Staying here would be a lose-lose situation for both of us; the League will constantly look over their shoulders, paranoid and incapable to trust me with anything, while I would be constantly have to work double time to ensure that I receive the adequate information and watch over Gotham."

"'Adequate information'?" John said incredulously, "You mean you'd _still _continue to develop contingencies behind our backs!?"

"Yes." Batman said calmly, looking at John as if he was the one out of his mind.

Batman looked at the shocked and exasperated looks (still avoiding Diana).

Batman sighed, "I will never be 100% sure that you all would never turn, that you would give up your principles." He said tiredly, "It only takes one bad day to turn somebody into a monster, to leave them so damaged..."

His mother's lifeless eyes flashed before him—his father's last words—

"...that they discard everything they were before" he said quietly. "You think being superhuman protects you from these things, but it won't. Your emotions—my own as well— lie vulnerable, they always do..."

In his peripherals, the blur that was Diana shifted slightly.

Batman looked at them (still avoiding her gaze), and his voice lowered to a hoarse and icy chill.

"And one day—I pray it never does—but one day, somehow, somewhere...a madman will find a way to use that against you."

His cloak flourished and his boots echoed into the ringing silence of his ominous statement as he turned to walk away.

A voice rang perfectly though the silence.

"Is that what happened to you?"

Batman stopped dead in tracks, blinking at the floor underneath him. His armor immediately felt heavier than it ever did, his cowl felt like lead...

The room behind him was quiet, but he could feel all of their eyes boring into his back. Waiting.

The voice of reason spoke within him: You can't say anything. Nothing. It could give away an essential clue to your identity—this _is _the essential piece to your identity! His entire existence came from that night, when he lost them. He remembered it so clearly, the beginning of his promise, the beginning of his new life...his mission...

Yet, in the quieter and far recesses inside his mind, a tug of emotion surfaced that no human could simply banish or whisk way...regardless of the amount of training or experience...

It jutted through him like a sword, with each word. You. hurt. them. You. hurt._ her_.

You owe her _something__**.**_

He slowly turned back around, his heart beating furiously inside his chest. He looked at the expectant faces of J'onn...Flash...Superman...Lantern...and finally, he couldn't keep avoiding her...

_Diana._

It hurt horribly. Looking at her so distraught and upset, knowing he was responsible. His stomach boiled and his insides wanted to claw their way out through his esophagus, he felt like he was going to pass out, he wanted to run and hide from the look of her face, run far far away where he wouldn't have to feel so guilty ever again.

His hands fumbled on the panel of the door way as he pushed the button to close the doors.

_You can't say anything...nothing..._

Right before the slide doors met, before she was cut-off from his sight, he made his choice.

"Yes."


	2. Chernobyl

_Two years later _

The Watchtower had seen better days, its clean image was fading due to the lack of repairs and upkeep on the place. There were dark patches all around the halls as various bulbs and electrical wiring had long since burnt out, useless.

"Where is the food in the place?!" Flash cried out, walking in through the doorway of the Monitor Womb. "I used to be able to feast for hours on the food in the kitchen, now I'm hard-pressed to find even a damn ration package!"

"As I've told you countless times, Wally" J'onn's dull voice droned over from the colossal computer monitor. "Batman was the one who would order and restock the rations, which—if my memory serves— were completely finished last week."

"Two weeks." Flash corrected gloomily, "I was the one who finished them."

"I'm not surprised," John said, stroking his chin as he analyzed various reports and files on the screen. "Now we must take shifts down to Earth to resupply ourselves."

"Speak for yourself, _Mr. Oreo_." Flash snorted, "I've seen the square packages that you smuggle into your room—and stop saying my name, I'm not used to the fact that we all know who is who now."

"I like Wally, Wally" said another voice behind him. "It's not as cool as John, but it's alright."

Flash turned around to the grinning face of John Stewart—The Green Lantern.

"I'm guessing you don't have a double-cheeseburger and fries just waiting to burst out from that ring of yours, do you?"

"Afraid not" John laughed, "It would come in handy though. Why don't you try the kitchen?"

"Have you seen the kitchen!?" he asked incredulously, "It's like Chernobyl down there!"

John frowned. "I thought Clark was bringing back supplies—?"

A loud beep rang throughout the room as the teleporter in the corner of the room vibrated loudly—somebody was coming through.

Clark Kent's face could not be seen behind the mountain of groceries he carried in his arms, and thus, his expression of bewilderment couldn't be seen as the bags in his hands began to jostle and shake randomly, almost as if an invisible person was rummaging through their contents—then, the bags stopped, again, as if the invisible person had found what they were looking for.

A loud _whoop _came from a nearby chair in the room.

Wally West was sitting down: two bananas in one hand, a sandwich in the other. His mouth was stuffed with what looked like cake.

"Mmphhmhff!" Flash moaned.

"Nice to see you too, Wally" Superman laughed as he passed bags to John. "Sorry I'm late, I went to see Lois before I left back here."

"I fergihve ya Clahrk" mumbled Wally through a mouthful of ambrosia.

Superman threw a bag at J'onn, who immediately peered inside and grinned widely.

"I did not know that the double-layered Oreos were in season," J'onn asked curiously.

"They're not." Superman said, "I managed to smuggle some at the Daily Planet—they're doing an article about the health-hazards Oreos pose."

J'onn narrowed his eyes. "It's these American children who know no limits and their parents lack proper dietary education—on our last mission alone, I saw a little boy the size of a circus elephant."

"Heh. That'll do it." Superman drew an ice-mocha from his bag, "Where's Diana?"

J'onn opened his box and ate a single cookie, "Training I presume."

"She's probably doing her best impression of Batman!" Flash said eagerly, tossing a banana peel to the side. "You know, 'I'm too busy to talk, and I need to brood some more'".

"She _has_ been working on her glare, I'll give her that" John mused.

"Careful" said another voice behind them all, "She hears that, and she might decide to break Batman's only rule."

Superman fumbled and nearly dropped the mocha in his hands. Mocha secure in his hands, he turned and glared at a very pretty 20-something-year-old girl who was smiling smugly at him from the doorway. Her hair was lightly tousled and her clothes damp. On her hip hung a glimmering silver mace that would sizzle with electricity on demand, and behind her, two large and magnificent wings nestled comfortably along her back—this was Shayera Hol, A.K.A. Hawkgirl. The replacement to The Batman.

"Hey, Shayera!" Flash said brightly, "Look what Sup' just came back with—Food!"

Flash held up his half-eaten sandwich like a trophy.

Shayera snorted, "Wally, you just ate 2 hours ago."

Wally shrugged and promptly swallowed a banana whole, in between munches, "fast methabolitism" could be made out.

"I'll just go give this to her then" Superman said, eyeing the mocha carefully, "I don't want it melting".

Shayera shook her head. "No it's ok, she'll be here in a sec. We just finished training."

Superman nodded. "So!" he said aloud, addressing the room as a whole. "Has anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary? Caught wind of any plans, maybe?"

He looked at them hopefully.

They all glanced at one another other, shaking their heads.

They weren't lying; no major force had attacked in a year, not since Darkseid had attacked the Earth, but even that attempt seemed as if his heart wasn't even in it—he returned to his home world after a few minutes of fighting.

There were robberies, muggings, and the petty crimes being committed that they attended to around the world, but aside from that...nobody sensed any real danger.

"The only thing out of the ordinary that I see, Clark," a voice drawled. "Is why do you have an Ice-Mocha in your hand, and I do not?"

Nearly jumping out of his own suit, he, again, fumbled the ice-mocha in his hands. Half exasperated, half amused, he turned around to the beautiful and beaming Amazon Princess, Diana.

"Er—sorry, Diana..." Superman said feebly, holding out the mocha awkwardly. "I know how much you like these and I was merely keeping it warm—er, I mean—keeping it away from harm."

Superman felt very idiotic indeed—Ice-Mocha's aren't meant to be kept warm.

Diana laughed. A real warm and vibrant laugh. She accepted the drink and kissed Clark on the cheek.

"That's sweet of you, Clark." she said, amused. "You're right, they are my favorite...um, this isn't vanilla-flavored is it?" she added warily.

"No." Superman said, eyeing her curiously. "Why?"

"Steve thought I might like it...Honestly, it's revolting..."

"Steve!" cheered Wally. "I forgot about that guy, how is he?"

"He's doing fine." she said warmly, "He's in combat training with his, um...squad? Or is team?" She groaned irritably, "It so confusing, the many ranks and all."

"Unit, Diana" said John, "He's with his Unit. And if I remember correctly— since he's a Captain now—I believe he'll have a Company."

"_Woah_." Flash said admiringly. "So he's like in charge of the Army?"

Shayera scoffed. "The ARMY? Are you that thick Wally? No, you idiot, he isn't in charge of the_ entire_ army. He just has a group of soldiers underneath him."

"Oh" Flash said, looking nonplussed. "Well, he isn't in battle, is he?"

"No, he's only in training." Diana said simply, "He has a week left."

Superman cleared his throat, breaking up the small talk, and walked to the center of the room.

"Since everyone is here, it seems like a good place to begin talking about the lack of criminal activity going around. I know I'm not alone in saying that the last time we all had a serious problem was last year—the fight against Darksied."

"If you can call that a fight..." Flash murmured, "More of a pillow-fight, if you ask me..."

"He went down in what, 4 minutes?" John remembered fondly. "5 minutes tops?"

"That isn't the point." Superman said irritably, "the point is that none of us have really been hard-pressed against anything in the past year. It feels...I don't know...odd."

"Odd." Shayera repeated, "You think that crime going down is odd? Isn't that the whole reason why we're here? To deter crime?"

"Not this type of crime," J'onn said suddenly. "This type of crime will never cease to exist."

"Eh?" Flash asked.

"There's always going to be _something _boiling," J'onn said quietly. "It would be naïve to assume otherwise..."

"What are you saying?" Diana asked, confused. "Are you saying that not having crime is a bad sign, because bad things happening...are a sign of _good_ things happening?"

"I'm saying that this is the calm before the storm," John said plainly. "Have you ever noticed that when Batman was still on board, we had always managed to keep busy? It could have been something as meaningless as busting a drug-meeting or a robbery—but we always kept busy."

"I remember." Flash groaned. "Vividly."

"Well it wasn't just for laughs or paranoia, he saw potential threats arising, and we dealt with them before they could snowball into something bigger."

"I was thinking the same thing," Superman said earnestly. "Something out there is boiling, taking its time...waiting. And we don't want to confront it at the pinnacle of its power, not if we can help it, that is..."

"So what are you suggesting, Clark?" Diana asked suspiciously.

"N—Now Diana, it's our job to look over the Earth's Welfare..." Superman said hesitantly, slowly backing up at the heated look on Diana's face. "We can't let our personal feelings get in the way..."

Diana let out mirthless laugh. "_Personal feelings!? _Oh Clark, why would you ever consider that?"

"Oh—just checking, of course—didn't want to upset you—"

"Upset?" she asked pleasantly, a very unsettling smile on her face. "Oh, now why would I be upset?"

"Well, I'm just saying—_suggesting_, really—it wouldn't be a bad idea—if we asked him—"

"Ask _who_?" she asked innocently, again in that disturbingly sweet voice.

Superman gave a weak smile.

"Um, well—you know—_."_ He eyed Diana very uneasily, and uttered, in the fastest and lowest voice.

"_Btmn"_

"I'm sorry" Diana said with another shrill laugh, "For a minute there I thought you said: _Batman_—but that couldn't be—I must be hearing things—"

"Er—I just thought—it wouldn't hurt—if we ask him—"

"_Ask _him!?" she shouted, "_ASK HIM?"_

"It was just a thought—"

"I am most certainly not going to ask _him _for anything!"

It took almost an hour to calm Diana down, all of them shouting appeasing and soothing words from across the room—they were all too scared to approach the livid Amazon princess—and it was only after Flash yelled "It's not like any of us _like _him either!" did Diana finally consent to sit down. She sat with her arms folded and her legs crossed, looking rather affronted and ready to pounce on anyone who annoyed her.

After a quiet minute, where the only sound was Diana's dark muttering, did someone speak up.

"So" Flash asked casually, rocking back-and-forth on his heels. "Has anyone seen him?"

After a small exchange of glances (most of them pointed at Diana), everyone shook their head.

No one had seen The Batman in two years.

J'onn lifted head slowly, still eyeing Diana out of the corner of his eye. "He's not dead," he said quietly. "He's still out there...even if we can't see him. I've followed signs...hints...clues..."

There was a round of impressed murmurs. Batman was renowned in the supernatural world for his stealth and isolation—to trail and track the master of trailing and tracking was astounding. Wally in particular was looking at J'onn with wide-eyes, mouthing out "_Woah_."

"How on earth did you manage that?" asked Shayera, her eyes wide and awed.

"I talked with him a year ago" J'onn said cheerfully. "Over League finances and financial agreement."

Flash snorted and muttered something about, "anti-climatic".

"All levity aside," J'onn continued. "There are other signs that even he couldn't do away with, for instance, the aftermath of his presence; we find criminals beaten on the streets, locked up and ready for police processing." J'onn scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Matter-fact, I suppose you can say that Gotham City itself is the biggest sign of them all."

"Right... Wally repeated airily, sounding thoroughly unconvinced, "_The biggest sign of them all..._"

Superman smiled. "Listen Wally, I've been to Gotham City recently—John and I went together actually. And, although we couldn't find him anywhere, even with our combined powers searching for him, from what I saw on that trip, it seems that Gotham City—"

"—once the reigning champ in corruption and crime," John reminded sternly.

"Definitely—and that's putting mildly," Superman said grimly. "Gotham was in a league of its own; cops were terrified to patrol the streets (the uncorrupted ones that is); the mob had all the judges and lawyers on the payroll; drugs and alcohol flooded the streets—sometimes forced upon people to make them addicted...dependent on the mob's supply..." he trailed off, sickened.

"How do you know so much about Gotham?" Diana asked gruffly, her arms and legs still crossed.

"Reporting. I did a piece on Gotham when I just started out at the _Planet.._." Superman sighed gloomily, "I must have spent 6 months researching for it too...didn't even make the paper..."

"Yet!" he exclaimed abruptly, his expression brighter, "The last time John and I went, I could hardly recognize the place! I mean, there were lawyers and cops enjoying dinners in broad daylight—_broad daylight!"_

He glanced excitedly around the room, but frowned when nobody seemed to understand this new development.

"Well, it's a very good sign, at any rate," he said defensively, "It's not like any of you could say different. Has anyone else been to Gotham?"

Another exchange of glances; nothing.

"_Oh, alright!"_

Everyone turned wildly around to Diana, who was now standing up, her hands thrown into the air, looking thoroughly exasperated.

"I've spoken to him. Ok?" she groaned. "6 months after he left, he called to complete the final transaction of funds and..." Diana rolled her eyes and sighed, "...and I was the closest to the channels, alright? It was a short conversation, after we finished the transaction he apologized to me—I mean, er— the League—yes, he apologized to The League." she added hastily.

"Heh. What did he say?" Flash asked, grinning wildly.

"He didn't say much," she said irritably. "He said he was giving us an extra 4 months of financial backing, and then he hung up."

"But that's got to be 5 million dollars!" Flash blurted, "Wow...maybe I should break up with him more often!"

Diana made an odd choking sound.

"What—what are you talking about!?" Diana said quickly, blushing furiously, "we didn't _break up!_"

"Yeah. Yeah." Wally said lightly, he turned to the rest of the room. "You know, I still can't believe we don't know who he is. I mean, , we must have spent months trying to figure his identity...and that was _after _we revealed our identities—you'd have figured we could have figured it out together..."

"Wally, we revealed ourselves to one another because we trust each other." Superman said firmly, "Batman isn't capable of that trust. He told us himself, remember?

"Oh yeah, I think I remember..." Wally said distantly. He cleared his throat and spoke in a harsh, raspy voice. "'_I can't trust anyone! Because I'm the one who'll attack a cute, fluffy bunny rabbit if it so much as hops like a criminal and—!'_"

There was a loud crash as John fell off his chair—and the next thing anyone knew; he was rolling on the ground, roaring with laughter.

"It _was _something along those lines, right?" Flash heartily shouted over the howls of laughter around him.

The only one who didn't join in was J'onn, who walked over to the computer monitor and brought up a video file.

Diana wiped a small tear from her eye (Wally's joke was quite funny) and noticed J'onn at the computer. She moved over behind him and frowned at the monitor.

J'onn was replaying the video footage from Batman's resignation. He was keenly focused on it, replaying certain segments of Batman's dialogue. The memory of that day was still so firmly printed in her mind that she didn't even have to look at his mouth to make out his words...

_I'm not your friend!_

"J'onn, what're looking at bud!"

Wally bustled over eagerly, and then frowned once he saw the screen.

"Oh. C'mon J'onn, I wasn't being serious."

"No, Wally. It isn't that." J'onn said vaguely, his eyes still focused on the screen. "I was just reminded of something..."

"Right..."

J'onn continued in this vein for some time, rewinding and fast-forwarding the video, muttering every now and then: "Oh, surely not..." and "Ah, which does seem logical..."

The rest of the League finished up laughing, (John still smirked whenever he and Wally glanced at each other) and settled next to Diana, waiting for whatever new idea came to J'onn's mind.

Finally, after the 10th "Why didn't we see that before?" did Diana firmly believe that she had enough.

"J'onn?" she barked. "What's going on?"

J'onn turned around at her and eyed them as if he just realized they were there.

"Ah! My apologies, I'm afraid I was deep in my thoughts."

"We figured." Shayera said grimly.

"You would like to know why I've been staring at this video, I assume?" he asked enigmatically.

"Yes. That's why we're here." Diana said through gritted teeth.

J'onn smiled and took one long searching look at Diana, after a moment, he said, very calmly:

"He is a damaged man, Diana."

Diana stared at J'onn a full ten seconds before she realized what he was talking about.

"Oh. Right."

J'onn nodded approvingly. "Recalling what Wally said earlier, we had indeed, searched for his identity for a very long period of time. During this time, I dwelled deeply on his persona—his character, if you will—and I found myself asking: 'what could possibly drive an ordinary man to become a vigilante?—and not _just _a vigilante, but a man dressed up like a _bat_?"

J'onn gazed expectantly at their face, but they all remained quiet.

"What are the qualities of a vigilante like Batman?—remember he's a mortal who fights not only criminals, but authority figures as well. He is highly intelligent, a master detective, a master fighter, and at the top of his physique...and therein lies another question: What _drives_ a man to put himself through that much _torment_?"

Again, J'onn looked around expectantly to their faces, but they remained deathly quiet.

"Why would a man _choose _to fight in one of the most dangerous cities in the world—and even then, if the task wasn't hard enough—alienate himself from what should be his biggest ally—the _Law?_!"

"He's insane?" Flash offered brightly.

"Actually, Wally, you're not far off."

"_Insane!?"_ Superman exclaimed, staring at J'onn as if he hadn't heard him correctly, "Alright, Batman is something of a unorthodox man, I'll give you that, and ok, he's unusual, and yes, sometimes his ideas are a bit extreme—but _insane, _J'onn!? That's...well...that's insane!"

J'onn sighed, "Oh the Mind is such a subtle thing..." He looked at Superman and shook his head, "You misunderstand me, Clark. He's not insane, but his mind has definitely been damaged_,_ and that damage manifests in a way where he can control it."

"_Damaged_..." Diana repeated faintly, "you mean he hit his head?"

J'onn shook his head, "That was my mistake, I worded it incorrectly. His _physical _brain isn't damaged—well, none that I could see—but it's his _mental _mind that has seen harm."

"Like Shell-Shock?" Diana asked curiously.

Superman glanced at Diana, surprised. "What's Shell-Sho—"

"Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome," John said in a quiet voice. "It's when a soldier's mind is disturbed from the horrors of war."

"Exactly!" J'onn said excitedly, "Very much like PTSD in the military, a traumatic event occurred in Batman's life and—"

"Steve also has seen some horrible things in his time at war, J'onn." Diana said coolly, "And yet he isn't jumping off rooftops at night."

J'onn eyes twinkled. "Ah! You see that's what I didn't understand until Wally amusingly brought my attention to Batman's general mistrust of _anything!_"

"I did, didn't I?" Wally said importantly, looking very pleased with himself.

"You see when someone suffers a traumatic event, one of the many symptoms is an all around mistrust of everything—or at least everything associated with the traumatic event. Now, when a traumatic event occurs in a developed adult's life—such as Diana's friend Steve—its effect is much less damaging than it would a child, agreed?"

A round of quiet agreement murmured throughout the room.

J'onn's tone became even more excited. "_And! _When you cross-reference the amount of time Batman would have needed to obtain his skills against his approximate age—we find that whatever traumatic event that spurned him to become who he is now, occurred well within his childhood."

Flash looked at J'onn with an awed expression, "So, Batman became Batman as a kid?...Woah..."

J'onn excited smile faltered. "_Almost_, Wally, almost..."

Diana stared at the monitor, which kept replaying "_Some madman will use that against you_".

And it clicked.

"So what you're saying is," Diana said slowly, "That Batman...wanted to _become_ Batman as a kid...because something happened to him as a kid?—something traumatic?"

"Excellent!" J'onn said contently, "It needs a bit fine-tuning but you managed the gist of it. _Something_ happened to him, _something_ traumatic, _something_ extremely life-changing, it morphed him and there's no doubt to me that it occurred when he was very young."

"Well! What was this _something_?" Flash asked eagerly.

J'onn sucked in a deep breath, impulsively ready to reply...

"...I don't know."

"Great." Flash said, deflated.

"I do." said Diana.

A second past before she realized she was talking, she looked around quickly at all the gawking faces and shrugged sheepishly, "Well, I have a general Idea of it."

J'onn stared at her with wide-eyes, "You...you do?" he asked hesitantly.

She moved to the controls and adjusted the video. She turned on the loud speakers and stepped back.

From all around them, Batman's icy voice spoke aloud.

_**It only takes one bad day to turn somebody into a monster, to leave them so damaged...that they discard everything they were before. You think being superhuman protects you from these things, but it won't. Your emotions—my own as well— lie vulnerable, they always do...**__**And one day, somehow, somewhere...some madman will find a way to use that against you.**_

Diana's soft, yet strong voice called out. _"Is that what happened to you?"_

Ringing silence. Footsteps.

"_**Yes**__."_

More silence. Batman's word's ringing uncomfortably in their minds...

"This is why we can't trust us..." Diana said faintly, "Somebody did something to him...something _horrible..._"

"A defense mechanism." J'onn stated quietly, "Then mind is hurt so greatly that it distances itself from all emotional connection, in hope that it does not suffer again."

But Diana was only half-listening, she was staring at the screen, where it was replaying Batman vanishing behind the door...the last time she saw him...

So that's why he was so cruel. So distant and emotionless. So hesitant to let his guard down. He didn't want to be hurt...it must be painful, she thought, to keep yourself locked up...eternally suffering...but he would never admit it, he would say that he was fine and that feelings were for the weak...but Diana knew...he was human, after all...and we all feel pain...he was dying from the inside...

"Can he be helped?" Diana asked suddenly, looking to J'onn. "Can someone recover from this sort of trauma?"

Behind J'onn, John and Superman shared an uncomfortable look.

J'onn initially frowned at her question, but he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"I believe he can be..." he said slowly, after a minute of thinking. "It will be difficult, to say the least...he must want to face the truth...It is difficult to convince those so detached from emotion to return, they're so, well happy isn't the word, but they're very _content_ being detached...and there lies the obstacle that Batman is now so rooted and formed with his detachment that will be extremely difficult to convince him to accept our help."

"He won't trust us." Superman said firmly. "Not after what happened. He helped create this league, and we essentially kicked him out."

"But we need him, don't we?" said Diana, perhaps too quickly.

Everyone looked at her extremely skeptically.

"Oh come on," she said eagerly. "Look all around you; we don't know how to keep this place running. Our financial situation is extremely bleak, and we haven't a clue on what's out there...what's coming."

"Aren't you the same woman who, a few hours ago, would have torn my head off, just as soon as I even mentioned the word _Bat?_"Flash asked.

"Well...that was before I knew all this stuff..." Diana said lamely. "Had I know this...well...I wouldn't...you know."

"Rigghht." Flash said. "And I'm a pretty fluffy bunny rabbit."

John snorted in the background.

Superman cleared his throat and stepped over beside Diana. "Look, I think we all can agree here, that Batman's position in the League should be, _reviewed. _Is everyone ok with that? Good. Now, onto the tricky part...how do we get him to—?"

"I'll get him" Diana said confidently, "I'll get him to come back myself if I have to."

"Diana, you don't even know where he lives."

"He lives in Gotham City, right?" she snapped.

"Oh yeah, because combing hundreds of Square miles for a man whose a master of stealth is going to be a real walk in the park. You tell me how that works out for you."

"We'll get him to come here!" Wally said brightly.

Everyone looked at Wally as if he had turned into a fluffy bunny rabbit.

"What?" he asked, unperturbed.

"Anything else you want?" Shayera asked loftily, "Maybe we can ask crime to just take a break for a month and we can all go to the Caribbean and—"

"Oh come on, Shayera!" Flash said enthusiastically," It'll work! Listen, we just tell him that there is a crisis or something—he won't be able to help himself! And then when he's beamed back up, we tell him, 'Batman we're sorry. We got over it. We want you back.'"

"I wouldn't put it past him to know that there isn't a crisis going on, Wally."John said sternly.

"Oh, yeah well there's that..."Wally said gloomily, he looked to the others for help, and when his eyes landed on Diana, he let out a triumphant yell.

"Ho, ho! There's a way around that, too!" he said excitedly, pointing feverishly to Diana, "Look, we just tell him that Diana is kidnapped or seriously ill and he'll come sprinting—!"

"_What!?_"

"Oh, come on Diana!" Flash said quickly, "I know you don't want to play the damsel-in-distress, but if he hears—"

"That—that isn't the point, Wally" breathed Diana, her face heating up. "I very much doubt I'd make the difference—I'm sure he'd come for any of us if we were in danger..."

Flash was looking at her like she was crazy.

"That's exactly how we'll do it—not involving you of course, Diana." Shayera added gleefully as Diana reddened even more. "We won't say it's a crisis, we'll just say it's an important meeting."

Superman looked none to convinced, "This is Batman, you guys...he'll think we're up to something."

"But we are, there's no hiding it." John said grinning, "That's how you hide something from the World Greatest Detective...you stick it right in front him, all in favor!?"

Everyone's hands shot up.

"Ok...I'll make the call." Superman said, breathing deeply like a gladiator about to walk into a pit. "Meeting adjourned."

As the rest of the League dispersed and went over the new development, Diana stayed behind, her mind in an argument.

She never told him about Steve...but why should she care, right? They weren't an item or anything—he made that perfectly clear. Diana scowled, she could still hear his heated voice:

"_I'm not your friend!"_

Diana made her mind up; she shouldn't, and wouldn't, feel the least bit guilty.

As she left for her own room, however, she still couldn't shake one thought: Just what did Flash mean when he said that, if she was in danger, Batman would come racing after her?

And why was she so embarrassed by it?


	3. Gotham

Gotham City - 3 A.M.

Batman was perched on a gargoyle, his expression grim. His cape billowed behind him, and the sounds of distant sirens filled the night air. In his hands was a small Joker card, drenched in blood.

Another Joker murder.

A twenty-year old Jane Doe, disemboweled and hung up on the rafters— her own intestines serving as the noose. Batman could still see her terrified eyes that clashed gruesomely with the carved sides of her lips, an eternal broad and bloody smile...

What is it about Gotham that attracted these psychopaths? First Jonathon Crane, then Ra's Al Ghul, and now a psychopathic clown whose favorite pastime seemed to involve a scalpel and person's face serving as the canvas.

Batman chanced a glance to the streets below him, where the lights and lamps of Gotham's night life appeared as nothing more than tiny glowing orbs. Hundreds of feet in the air, he could spot the tiny antlike figures of the public, bustling and striding along the pavement, ignorant to the fact that they were making his job a lot more difficult. But even this was a good problem, 5 years ago, before he began his war against crime, no one in their right mind would have dared to venture out into Gotham's streets, let alone at night.

Now—dozens of bruised limbs and disgusting protein shakes later—the night was bursting with the cheers and laughs of husbands and wives, of sons and daughters; everyone, bright and chipper, moving throughout the city. Again, ignorant to the fact that hundreds of feet above them, Gotham's very own Dark Knight was watching quietly.

Their cheers and laughs washed up against his armor, unable to penetrate his deep reverie, but, it would be foolish and arrogant to assume that he didn't feel slightly put-out by the ambient happiness...So put-out, that, as he watched the city thrive beneath him, a question bubbled to the surface.

Was he doomed to isolation? Was Bruce Wayne condemned to forever watch the streets, forever protecting children and parents, yet never to harbor a family of his own? He smiled bitterly, after all, he didn't have parents as a kid, why should it be any different as an Adult?

Dad left him. Mom left him. Rachel left him. Now, Diana...

Bruce laughed bitterly, it was _he _who had left Diana...

It was hard to believe it had been two years since he had seen her—in the flesh, that is (he had kept a series of concealed cameras within the Watchtower). It was even harder to believe that it had been 6 years since he had first donned the cape and the cowl. And if you went farther than that, to the ten years with the League of Shadows, the tally would amount to 16 years. 16 years of his life devoted to the streets; so no other kid would lose his parent's because of a gun...

On that thought, Batman looked over his right shoulder. There was a reason why he came to this particular gargoyle; it hung over the alley where he lost his parents all those years ago. He always came here for guidance and strength, whenever Gotham City welled up a new horror or travesty, he came here to find the resolve to do what was necessary...

Perched over the alley, he could still see himself walking down the concrete floor...his mother and father grinning broadly as a young Bruce adamantly denied being afraid of Bats. And then a shadow came into view, looming larger and darker until it pulled out a gun, he screamed and—

A clear and monotone beeping rang clearly in the air. Batman whipped his head around a few times, searching wildly for the source before it dawned on him. Feeling very stupid indeed, he rummaged through his belt and retrieved one of the two identical small square beacons he regularly employed in his crime-fighting career, and whose twin-brother he slapped onto Dr. Jonathon Crane's vehicle, a few days prior. "Enough feeling sorry for yourself," he told himself firmly, squashing the memory of his parents while sliding the Joker card into a belt compartment. "Time to go to work."

And with that, Batman stood up on the Gargoyle, slid his hands into the pockets of his cape, and jumped out into the open air.

_Wayne Manor- Bat Cave - 2 hours later_

The Tumbler's roars echoed throughout the cave as it jumped through the waterfall and landed with a giant splash. "Overall interesting night" Bruce grumbled as the Tumbler's canopy slid inward and revealed an opening above him. He finally tracked down Crane and gained a lead on the Mob, but, even more bizarre, he discovered that there were actually people dressing up like him to fight crime—except they substituted his 300,000-dollar military suit, for Wal-Mart Hockey pads.

Yes, he felt a small twinge of pride, but these guys would end up getting themselves killed.

He moved to step out of the Tumbler, and red-hot pain flared up in right arm as he lifted himself out of the cockpit. "Stupid Dogs!" he snarled as he snapped his arm back and held it up to the light. Crane's imagination wasn't bound to only drugs and hallucinogens, on this drug-deal; he brought a threat that was ingeniously simple: Dogs. Rottweilers, to be exact. They managed to pierce his armor's shell and sink their teeth into his flesh, leaving his arm resembling a badly butchered steak.

With his right arm useless, he lumbered stupidly out of the Tumbler and snatched up a medical kit on his way to his workstation. He dropped into his comfortable leather (black, of course) wheeled chair and rolled over to a giant screen that dwarfed even the Justice League's colossal monitor. He set his cowl on the counter and made a quick business call before opening the medical kit and setting to work on his injured arm.

A lofty and amused British voice echoed in the cave.

"Master Wayne, you have many attributes and incredible gifts—British Medical Practice, however, is not one of them."

Bruce dropped the stitching materials and leaned back into his chair. "Alfred, I've told you" he said, grinning. "My father's medical skill was a trait that skipped over me."

A tall, thin, and lanky English Butler came bustling out of the shadows. He had a surprisingly full head of hair that was a brilliant shade of grayish-white, immaculately trimmed and parted to the side. He was dressed in an even more pristine charcoal grey business suit and shiny black dress shoes.

Bruce thought he looked like a President.

Alfred removed a pair of glasses from his breast pocket and loomed over the wound. "Yes, it is good to hear you in a good mood Master Wayne, everything went well I presume?"

"More or less" Bruce reasoned. "Finally picked up Crane, stopped his shipment of drug. And you're going to love this Allred, more copycats—this time with _hockey pads_, of all things...oh, and this." Bruce passed along a small manila folder containing a series of photos.

Alfred winced.

"He's getting Bolder." Bruce said quietly, "Hitting up Banks in broad daylight...he's even stopped trying to hide the murders..."

Alfred gripped Bruce's shoulder, "You'll get him sir, you always do."

With a silent nod, Bruce looked over the photos, anger boiling up inside him at the way the Joker flaunted leisurely around in his city. He shouldn't be here resting. Not when the Joker's out there...waiting...

"Alfred," Bruce began heavily, "I'm going to need to go out again—"

"Perhaps, Master Wayne," Alfred said rather hurriedly, the way you would when changing subjects. "You should hire these vigilantes and take the night off?"

Bruce smirked as he slumped back in his chair, leave it to Alfred to know when to butt in. Bruce was being stupid of course, he wasn't going to be in any shape to fight until he properly dressed and rested his arm.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind, Allred." Bruce said, amused. "When I said I wanted to rally the people."

Alfred bowed his head in acknowledgement, somehow making the act look juvenile, "Of course sir, then let us take the appearance of these would-be heroes as a sign of improvement."

He pointed to the phone, "How did your request go with Mr. Fox?"

Bruce picked up a schematic he designed for his new suit and passed it to Alfred, "It went fine. I'll pick it up tomorrow morning".

Alfred peered over the schematic curiously "Ah, it looks much more intricate and fine-tuned than those America Football pads you run around with every night." Alfred said cheerily, returning to Bruce's arm. "As for tomorrow sir, I'm afraid I think you might be adding another event to your schedule."

"Really?" Bruce asked mildly, "Another Fundraiser?"

"The League, sir." Alfred said, with a small smile, "Mr. Kent called on their behalf, he rambled on about an important meeting and asked if you would be kind enough to attend."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, They wanted him to attend a meeting did they?

"He said that all members would be in attendance: Green Lantern, The Martian, Flash, Your Replacement, and himself."

Bruce nodded silently to himself as he heard the list, counting off the names until he was one short. "What about Diana?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Ah yes!" Alfred exclaimed mildly, "My apologies, sir—you know how forgetful I am these days. Princess Diana of Themyscira will also be in attendance."

Bruce eyed Alfred suspiciously, the day Alfred's memory failed him was the day Batman would take ballet lessons.

"Something wrong, sir?" Alfred asked, observing Bruce's expression with a mysterious smile.

Bruce waved a hand, "Nothing, nothing" he said airily.

As Alfred went back to work on his wound, Bruce's mind shifted to the one thing annoyingly pestering his mind—Diana. Why did Alfred look so smug when he mentioned Diana? Of course, Bruce hadn't seen her in years, and she even got herself a new boyfriend in that time.

Bruce scowled, he didn't even know what she saw in him, in that _Captain Steve Trevor. _Mr. Captain would be ripped to shreds if he stepped into Batman's shoes for one stinking minute—

"_Argh!"_

Bruce clenched down hard on his teeth and his entire body went rigid from white hot pain that welled up in his right arm—right where Alfred had abruptly tightened his stitch.

Alfred peered at him over the rim of his glasses. "Did that hurt?" he said mildly over Bruce's gasps.

"_Tickled_...Alfred..." Bruce panted, "_Tickled." _

"Annnnddd...All done!" Alfred said happily, cutting the extra wire from the stitch, "Make sure you take a few antibiotics in case of an infection."

"Right." Bruce said heavily, rubbing his arm uncomfortably, "Now what is it that League wants from me?"

"I believe they mentioned a potential global threat that they needed your take on."

Bruce mulled this over, they needed his help—of course they needed his help, now of all times. He typed into the computer and withdrew a video file, the day Darkseid came down and fought.

He remembered that day very clearly, so tempted he was to show up and assist them, but they handled it reasonably well. Hopefully they didn't walk away from that fight thinking that Darksied was losing his grip—he was after something, testing the League most likely. Darkseid was no fool; he must be close to realizing that Batman is no longer part of the League_._

Bruce minimized the video and brought up program, the link to the secret security cameras he installed before he left the Watchtower. They would blow up with anger if they ever discovered this information, but they honestly couldn't just accept that he'd completely turn a blind-eye towards an organization that powerful. That would be incredibly stupid._.._

"Besides," Bruce childishly reasoned aloud, "I paid for everything in there."

"Pardon sir?" Alfred asked, looking up mildly from the schematics.

"Nothing...just, trying to absorb this." Bruce said as he nodded at the screen.

Bruce switched through the many camera viewpoints, mulling over the decisions at hand: Should he go back to the people who branded him a traitor? To the people who were too foolish and ignorant to the fact that they themselves were a danger to the Earth? Their powers, if used for darker purposes, could easily enslave worlds and civilizations.

But still, it wasn't as if Batman was morally upright either, matter of fact, he was probably the most morally ambiguous of the mall ...he'd spend a lifetime in prison just from illegal parking tickets...

What would father do?

Bruce closed his eyes and smiled.

To maintain the ability to make..._compassionate _choices, Bruce began to ask himself what Thomas Wayne would do in particular situations—obviously his Father would have had no idea what to do when facing off against 13 goons with knives, but hey, 99% of the world's population wouldn't know either.

But in these situations..._humanitarian _situations (as Alfred put it)...his Father really did shine.

Thomas Wayne commanded respect and dignity...and yet, he was a forgiving person...a man with a pure heart...he'd hear The League out...

"Ok, Alfred, I'll message them back when I'm done here."

"Very good sir, I've prepared the arrangements for the party as well. Remind me, why are you throwing a fundraiser for Mr. Dent? Or is it to impress Rachel?"

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Dent, Alfred. This party is for Dent. He's a hero with a face, somebody the people of Gotham can rally behind. I just need the rich people of Gotham to back him up in this last pull. If I can get enough support for him, Batman's war on crime will be finished."

Alfred pressed ahead, "And of Ms. Dawes?"

Bruce slightly hesitated..._what of Rachel?_

"She makes her own choices" Bruce replied simply.

"And of Diana?"

"What of Diana?" he asked guardedly.

"Nothing, sir." Alfred replied airily, walking over to the elevator. "Nothing at all."

Bruce stepped up from chair and headed over to the showers, stripping off pieces of his armor and tossing it to the side. He stopped and watched Alfred rise in the elevator shaft, listening to the steady machinery and cabling echo faintly in the cave until Bruce heard the heavy_ thud_ when it reached the top.

Bruce stared at the elevator shaft for a full minute.

"Then why bring her up in the first place?!" he grumbled, kicking a piece of his armor as he stormed over to the showers.


	4. The Joker

THE WATCHTOWER

Diana was groggy and grumpy when she awoke because she didn't get much sleep. Today was the day that Batman was supposed to arrive back, and she tossed and turned in her bed all night— rushed with a sense of nervousness that wouldn't let her sleep.

"Diana! Diana! You need to come see this!"

"Alright..._alright..._I'm up_..."_ Diana rubbed her eyes and sat up, "...wuzz goin un?"

"It's him—oh it's on the news—he might dead—!"

This word jolted Diana awake.

"Wait—who is—did you say _dead?—" _she asked hurriedly, throwing off her sheets and jumping off her mattress. _"_Ok, I'm awake, what's happened? Are we under attack? Whose dead?—_What are you staring at!?"_

Shayera was staring at her with eyes as big as stones. "You're um...You—you sleep naked?"

Diana slowly looked down at her naked body and then back to Shayera. "...you don't?"

"Um...well, no, not really..."

"Well, all Amazon warriors sleep naked." Diana said normally, "It is has been our way for thousands of years."

"Right..." Shayera said feebly, throwing furtive glances at her. "Aren't you supposed to kill me for seeing you like this..."

Diana smiled, and looked a bit confused. "We feel no shame showing our bodies to sisters—you may not be an Amazonian, but you are woman, and, more importantly, you're a friend."

"Oh..."

Diana frowned, "If my frame displeases you I will not—"

"Oh no!" Shayera said quickly, "I mean, I like men, don't get me wrong, it's just that...well..._you _got a really nice body." she blurted.

"Oh!" Diana said faintly, turning pink again. "Well thank you...I'm sure your own body is equally if not more pleasing to the eye."

"Right, with the amount of chocolate cookies I eat...that is if Wally doesn't beat me to them in the Monitor Womb—" that terrified look return to Shayera, "The Monitor Womb! Diana, we need to go—!"

"Alright, alright!" Diana began to hastily thrown on some clothes, "But you're not telling me what _exactly _I should be so afraid of!"

"It's _Him_, Diana!" she said, "It looks like he's dead—"

A stone dropped in Diana's stomach. "_Him?_" she croaked. Immediately her mind was ensnared by guilt: What had she done? Did her celebrity as a crime-fighter cause Steve's death? How could she be _stupid _to think that it could work—"

"Yes, _Him!" _Shayera said, "But we're not 100% sure, I mean it looks like it's him, but the cape is different, and the cowl—"

"A cowl?" she said, baffled, "Why would Steve wear a cowl..." and she trailed off, her stomach squirmingas it clicked in her head.

By the look on Shayera's face, she must have understood what Diana was thinking.

"Yes, _him. _Batman...it—it says he's dead. He was hung, or something, There was a rope, and red clown make-up—Gotham News is-"

But Diana wasn't listening, she was going over the information in her head, _What? No no no. Batman dead? No. He can't...he's supposed to be coming to day..._

Diana all but flew toward the Monitor Womb.

Diana entered the room with a horrible anticipation in her stomach. As soon as she entered through the door way she the ashen faces of John, Wally, Clark, and J'onn. They were all looking up at the monitors, stricken. Her footsteps echoed and they turned to the sound, but as they realized as they realized who had entered, none of them were able to meet her eyes.

Diana inched closer to the screen and, after what seemed like an eternity looking at the floor, she glanced up to the image of Batman's corpse, a rope around his neck, caked in chalk-white make-up and a red smile on his face.

The Headline read, "_BATMAN DEAD_?"

...But that couldn't be true...something was off...Batman couldn't die...no...Diana sank to the floor, the world becoming a nauseating blend of colors_...he can't die...he's coming in today..._

"Please be warned," a news anchor said gravely on the screen, "The video is disturbing."

Diana looked up to what looked like a home-movie recording. It was Batman—looking very chubby and overweight—bound by a rope and his cowl askew on his head...but his armor was..._amateur._It looked like...Diana scrunched her nose in confusion; it looked like Batman was wearing _sports pads!__?_ Diana looked behind 'Batman' and saw that the ribs of pigs or cows lay behind him...it looked like he was kidnapped and taken to a meat factory_?_

Diana didn't know what to think, everything was so unusual—Batman wasn't overweight, he didn't wear amateur pads, and, most of all, Batman didn't shiver and shake like a scared dog, which was exactly what the Batman on screen was doing...

And then, a haunting voice slithered over the squeals and whimpers of "Batman", a voice that was slimly and revolting as it seemed to be enjoying itself...

"_Tell them your name."_

"B-B-Brian" stuttered 'Batman'.

"_Are you the real Batman?"_

"N—No..." Brian whimpered.

The voice laughed with maniacal glee.

"_No? NO? Hahahahahaha! Then why do you DRESS up like him? Hooowhoo!"_

A purple gloved hand shot out from behind the camera and removed the cowl from Brian's face—revealing a sobbing and terrified man. The man's sobs only seemed to invigorate the voice; it dangled the cowl in front of Brian, laughing sadistically.

Brian glanced up to the person behind the camera, after a few harsh gulps—and with what Diana figured must have been all the courage he could muster—spat out; "He's a symbol; that we don't have to be afraid of scum like you!"

The voice didn't even sound remotely offended, instead it cackled with glee, _"Oh, you doooo Brian, you REALLY do." _The purple glove then began slapping and grabbing at Brian's tortured face, laughing and hooting as if it were all just a game.

"_So Brian, do you think Batman has made Gotham a better place?"_

Brian didn't answer, he stared at the floor, his jaw trembling and his face completely white.

_"Brian...Brian, look at me" _the voice beckoned softly, like a sick lover.

Brian's hollowed eyes were rooted to the floor, and Diana figured it wasn't Brian's rebellious nature that was behind it...no, Brian was shaking, his whole body was trembling...

And then suddenly, with a terrifying, bull-like roar, the voice bellowed;

_**"LOOK AT ME!**__"_

Brian flinched and he looked up, trembling and hesitant, to the voice behind the camera.

"_Oh, don't look so sad Brian, please, don't cry..." _The voice oozed apologetically, sounding like a demented mother comforting her kids, "_We can't have that now, can we?"_

Brian let out a terrified squeal as the purple hand reached out and smothered red makeup on the sides of his mouth.

_"I'll tell you what Brian, I'm going to help you... I'm going to help you smile...I'm going to give you a smile just like MINE!"_The sadistic voice giggled, producing a small knife and inching it close to Brian. _"Now, now Brian, don't be a bad boy...just hold still for me..."_

Brian had violently clamped his mouth shut and was jerking his head to the sides, moaning in pain as the captor's knife scraped and sliced his jaw as it struggled to slip into Brian's mouth.

"..._Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way, Brian..." _the voice said faintly, dropping the knife out of sight...

Brian's shrieked as the captor violently grabbed the back of his head and shoved his face toward the knife, where the blade forcefully ripped through the side of his lips and into his mouth. Brian tried to scream but the knife stifled his cry to guttural chokes and moans, he kicked wildly, his bound arms flailing uselessly at his sides...Blood began to drip out of his lips as the knife began its work inside Brian's mouth...

A dirty purple figure moved forward and sat on Brian's lap, exposing the back of a man in a purple suit and green unkempt hair, who pulled out yet another knife and began to work on Brian's face with a horrible joy...

"_That's it...it's almost done, Brian...almost done..." _he jeered over the sounds of Brian's boots frantically kicking against the floor, his horrifying moans...

Diana wanted to throw up...her insides squirmed and her blood curled...this wasn't humane...this was sick...

The boots stopped kicking...Brian stopped twitching...

The man sighed, satisfied. He held up the knife to his eyes, where it was now drenched in red, and casually flicked it to the side, where it landed with a light echo...

The man stood up from Brian's lap and moved away, revealing the dead remains of Brian...his face was mutilated, his mouth slashed and hacked...his eyes partially gouged...

Wally held a hand to his mouth, like he was on the verge of vomiting, and grabbed a chair to support himself.

The entire camera moved, and it blurred in the air before coming to focus up-close on the broad smiling face of the man himself... He had green hair, his entire face masked in chalk-white makeup...but his strangest feature was the red paint/lipstick that was smothered along over scars at his lips and cheeks, illuminating his Glasgow smile...

"_See, this is how Crazy Batman has made GOTHAM. You want ORDER in Gotham, Batman must take off his mask, and turn himself in..." _The demented clown licked his lips and frowned slightly, rubbing his chin, as if remembering something...

"_Oh! And, uh everyday he doesn't, people will die, starting tonight—I'm a man of my word..." _he added sheepishly, "_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH A!"_

The Clown's blood-curling laughter revealed a set of yellow rotted teeth...the camera shook violently, the world went blurry, and then finally black...

None of them so much as whispered in the silence that followed. Superman stood firmly in place, his face stoic and grave. John stared at the floor, J'onn stood silent, Wally's eyes were firmly closed and Shayera, who had entered behind Diana, stood stone-faced at the screen.

None of them noticed that the report began to play itself back, starting from the headline of _breaking news_, revealing the image of an impostor Batman, hanging from a noose...

Flash opened his eyes and stared at a blank spot ahead, his eyes huge., "That face..." he mumbled.  
Superman buried his face in his hands, rubbing them slowly before balling his hands and placing them under his chin. "That laugh..."

Diana stood up from the floor, rubbing her shoulders together uncomfortably. "Who...was that?" she said quietly.

No one answered.

"His name, Princess," said a quiet voice from the door, "is _The Joker_."

Diana whirled around.

And there he was, standing underneath the doorway, tall, dark, and very much alive, was Batman. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind this time: same aura, same physique, same height, same jaw, same lips...

Emotions flooded her, bliding happiness and relief swept her up as she ran up to him, she flung her arms wide embrace him—but he stepped back. She stood there, with her arms stretched out, staring at him, at loss for words.

"Batman, you're not dead!" Flash said excitedly.

"What do you need my help with?" Batman said coldly.

Flash's smile faltered."We um...we wanted to talk."

"_Talk..._" Batman repeated silkily, "You wanted me to leave my city—leaving that _monster _to parade around—to _talk..."_ Batman turned his head to face Flash. "So _talk...Wally..."_

Flash flinched at his name... _Batman knew his name_...he recoiled and sunk into a chair.

Nobody moved, nobody said a word. The league all looked one another alarmingly; the plan was going horribly wrong...

"I'm _talking_..." hissed Batman, "Is this not what you wanted?"

Batman's glare moved to Superman, "_Clark_—you're the leader, correct?" he spat, "What do you want to _talk_ about?

Superman, like Wally, looked at Batman, horrified...heknew their names...

"_Princess!_" Batman said pleasantly, "Perhaps you can enlighten me—what shall we talk about?"

Diana let her still-outstretched arms drop, she backed away from him... she'd never seen him like this...

Batman gazed at the room "No one?" he said disappointedly. "Look at me."  
No one answered.

"**LOOK. AT. ME**." Batman roared.

They all flinched at this, it sounded eerily like the Joker on the screen...

"Now that I've got your attention..." he said angrily, "I would like to know why I left my city to an insane and murderous psychopath. Any takers? No?"

"If no one tells me anything I swear I'll pull this damn thing out of orbit." Batman growled with an octave so low it was as if the ground shook.

J'onn broke the silence first.

"We wanted you back Batman, we wanted you reinstated" J'onn said clearly, "_That's_ why we called you."  
A whisper of murmured of agreement fluttered through the room.

Batman merely stood at the his spot.

"It's true Batman" Superman said, stepping toward him, "We need your help, and we can't do this alone. We don't want to risk the Earth's safety over pride."

Diana watched as Batman stood absolutely still, it was bizarre, he looked frozen. He glared at each of them in turn, and when he reached her, she defiantly glared back.

A small smile broke on his face.

"Are you offering me my position back?" he asked aloud, still glaring at Diana.

"Yes" said Superman, Lantern, Flash, and J'onn in unision.

"Er—I say yes as well," Shayera added sheepishly, "But I'm your replacement so I don't know if I get a vote—"

Diana smiled devilishly at Batman. "Don't be ridiculous, Shayera," Diana said pleasantly, in the same voice Batman used when addressing her, "You're staying regardless."

Batman's smirk widened slightly.

"And of you, Diana?" he said clearly, "I haven't _yet _been given your permission to return."

Diana didn't answer him. Instead, she stepped back.

Batman's smirk faded.

"Might have deserved that." he muttered.

After a deep breath, he opened his arms stiffly and stepped toward her—offering his embrace. She looked at him hesitantly, and with a small smirk of her own, she stepped forward into his arms and hugged him back. It was extremely awkward, she couldn't even feel any human skin through all his armor—but she could make out his muscles and frame, he was, after all, very physically fit.

"My actions, they were not necessary." He said gruffly in her ear, "I was caught off guard, and I took out my anger on the wrong people."

"You think?" she said musingly.

Batman slowly drew his face back and looked her in the eyes, "You didn't deserve that." He said sincerely, "I'm sorry".

At this range, Diana could see discern between the mask and war paint, and see directly into his eyes. The way he was talking to her, the way he carried himself—had someone told her yesterday that The Batman would hug her and apologize to her face, she would have laughed...but now...he seemed so..._different_. He used to carry himself as if something was weighing down on his shoulders, his breathing, speech, and stature used to be robotic and monotone...not sincere and smirking. Diana sighed, for Hera's sake he was ready to blow up the room a minute ago...

"You've know who Clark and I are," Wally said eagerly, "How long have you known?"

As Batman left her embrace and walked over to Superman and Wally, Diana felt a very strong and very sudden urge to kick Wally as hard as she could.

"Since the beginning," Batman said, grinning. "It wasn't hard, it took me two days."

Superman snorted, "Well they don't call you The Detective for nothing, I guess."

"Well, thanks for not telling anyone..." Flash said, rubbing his neck sheepishly "...you know, after we kicked you out and stuff..."

Batman looked Wally over for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "That would not have been right...I do...I do feel some guilt for my actions—I do not regret them" he added quickly, "But, all the same, I will admit that it was a very blunt and callous thing to do. I reiterate that it was never my intention to hurt you, physically...or—or as a friend," he finished stiffly.

Diana openly gaped at him, this was getting more and more bizarre...his apology might have been outlandish, for one thing, but now...now he was admitting to being _friends_!?

After a few moments when everyone recovered from the shock of Batman's new camaraderie (except Wally, who remained gawking at Batman) John quietly stepped forward and said, "We could help you with this Joker guy, Batman. You know, to pay you back for what happened."

Batman smiled bitterly, "I am not guilt-free either, no apology is required, John." His eyes flickered up to the monitor, where it had begun to silently replay the Joker's video. "As for the Joker, I am sure that with the combined powers of everyone in this room, he would go down in seconds—but the city needs to see the Police and I take him down, if the League came down and solved our problems, then the police would never command any respectable authority of their own."

Batman glanced confidently around the room, and with a curt nod of his head, whirled and made to walk away.

Diana reached to his shoulder, "Wait, what about your seat? Are you back?"

Batman turned to her, looking very much surprised. He paused for a moment and, seemingly choosing his words carefully, and said, "I'll come back, but, I'm afraid my time will be limited."

"Perfectly alright, Batman" Superman said cheerily, "We don't want to get in between you and Gotham. Just having you check up on things will be a great help."

"Yes, a partial membership is better than no membership." John said sagely.

"I'd like that." Diana said happily, "I mean, er—_we_ would like that."

Batman smiled half-heartedly at her stumble.

Diana frowned, "Is everything alright?"

Batman didn't meet her gaze, instead he eyed the floor uneasily. "You don't understand," he said quietly. "When I say my time is limited...I mean that my time as Batman is limited."

"Are you terminally ill?" J'onn said, eyeing Batman professionally, "As you are no doubt aware, I am extremely up to date in medical practice and—"

"No, I'm fine. Perfectly fine actually," Batman said, "It's just...Gotham's need for Batman...is...well...it's almost over."

Diana couldn't believe her ears. This was all a joke, surely. Any minute now Batman was going to snap out of his reverie and bark at them for letting their guards down so easily...Batman couldn't just _retire_...he was too stubborn for that...

"But Batman," Diana said uneasily, her voice sounding dry from the endless surprises of the day, "No matter how clean Gotham becomes, there will always be crime, always be evil. This is true of Metropolis, Bludhaven, Central City..."

Batman smiled at her, "You are right of course, there will always be crime, always...But the difference now will be that Gotham's Police will be able to handle it, they won't need me to work behind-the-scenes."

She smiled exasperatedly, "But Batman surely you—"

"I know what you're thinking, Diana." He said calmly, walking over to her. "I know I've appeared extremely rigid in my duties in the past, but what you must understand is that the city—_my _city— is breathing again, people aren't running scared anymore. All the work that I've done, the last 6 years of my life, everything is now coming together. In a few more months, I could just let the city go and—and—" Batman grinned broadly, "—and it will be fine without me!"

"That is why I became angry when I saw the man on the screen, The Joker" he explained, she was faintly aware the he was now grasping her arms in his excitement. "He's the last hurtle, the last _test_! Once the new District Attorney prosecutes and takes him down—along with the remaining big mobsters—the city won't need me anymore, it'll be...it'll be over." He whispered distantly, his eyes shifting out of focus...

"So!" Batman said contently, coming back into focus, "I'll help you for a short time—I'll even fund you again, _permanently_...but, after this, I'm done."

"But what if you stayed?" Diana said earnestly, squeezing his arm gently, "You could do so much good here!"

"And even that's an understatement," Superman said, "If you were a full-time member, the possibilities are...well, endless."

"Not to mention having the _Dark Knight _on our side!" Flash said enchantingly, "I mean have you ever considered the threat your mere _name _commands!"

Batman grinned. "I—I am aware" he said amused.

Diana squeezed his arm again, brining his attention back to her. "So will you do it?" she said softly, "Will you stay?"

Diana could almost feel everyone behind her holding their breath on his answer, everyone's attention focused on the man in front of her.

Batman didn't answer for several minutes. He stepped back from her arms and paced in a small circle while he stared distantly at the floor below him. Every now and then he would stop in his tracks and look up at the monitor, observing it like a doctor would his patient, before returning to his pacing and floor-gazing routine. It could have been Diana's imagination, but she was positive that every now and then, in the brief moment where Batman would turn on the spot to keep pacing, he would sneak a quick glance at her out of the corner of his eye—of course she couldn't _see _his eyes underneath the cowl, but the way he suddenly jerked his head before rounding off made her highly confident in this assumption.

Finally, Batman wandered back over to them, looking grimmer than ever. Diana felt a horrible sense of anticipation wash over her.

"I've given this much thought..." he said slowly, his gruff voice sounding much more hoarse than harsh, "A long time ago...I made a promise to someone...someone I care about"— Batman's gaze flickered briefly over Diana—"_deeply_. And, that promise, was, on the day that Gotham no longer needed Batman: I would hang up my cape and cowl. Start a new life. A real life."

"Oh." Diana said, feeling very much out of place. "I—I see..."

"Yes." Batman said, not quite meeting her eyes.

"So, just to be clear, after this is done, you're going to...disappear?" she said, her throat feeling very dry indeed. "Gone?"

"That is—that is the idea..." he said quietly, now definitely not meeting her eyes.

For a long and tense minute, they just stood there. Diana became aware of a very unpleasant knot in her stomach as she fully realized what his words meant; if was he going to retire, there would be no more Batman, and if there was no more Batman then—

"Will I see you again?" she said bluntly, unable to control herself, "After you've retired and started your new life with..." The knot in her stomach tightened, "...with the person you care about."

Strangely enough, she knew his answer the second the words left her lips...

He shook his head very faintly. "No." he whispered—any quieter and she would have had to read his lips.

_No..._

That simple word rang clearly in her head, almost as if her mind went completely blank and no other word existed. And then she started to become annoyed at the word, very annoyed. And then, to Diana's surprise, she started to become very angry—no not angry—whatever she was feeling at the moment was definitely not anger. This was something worse, something that made her want to walk right up to Batman and beat him to a tiny pulp. She wanted to scream with injustice, this wasn't fair, this wasn't right. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. She couldn't explain why she felt so betrayed, so cheated out, nothing really had happened, nothing to warrant such a furious upwelling in her emotions...all she knew was that she wanted to ball up her fist and drive it up the stomach of the _someone _Batman cared _deeply _about—

"So this is it then?" Wally said loudly, eyeing the two of them very warily.

"What?" Batman said mildly, hesitantly tearing his eyes away from Diana. "Oh, yes...yes...I'll be on my way."

With one last furtive glance at Diana, he paused and his mouth fidgeted slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But, he only sighed, rather dejectedly, and left the room.

Diana didn't know how long she stood there, counting off the distant echo of his footsteps. _Thud...Thud...Thud..._

The next thing she knew however, was that she was hurtling toward the door at top speed. She could faintly hear Shayera and Superman shouting behind her, but she wasn't listening, she was solely focused on the distant black figure at the end of the hall.

She caught up to him at the teleporter, his back turned to her as he punched in coordinates. He sighed despairingly as her footsteps approached.

"No, Clark. I'm not going to rethink my decision. And no, I will not reveal your identities as a retiree—"

"Hello" she said pleasantly.

Batman whirled around, the shock on his face couldn't be more pronounced.

"Diana...I wasn't expecting..."

"Can I ask you something?" she said clearly.

"What? Oh, um...sure, I don't see why not—"

"Who are you?"

"Er—What?"

"Who. Are. You?" she repeated slowly.

"Diana..." he breathed, shaking his head slightly, "Are you asking me—?"

"Yep." She said simply.

Batman's face fell. "How can you expect me to answer that?"

"Because you're leaving." She said, "And I won't get another chance."

"Diana, I..." and for a fleeting moment, as he bit his lip and eyes narrowed into genuine thought, Diana was rushed with an absolute certainty that, any moment now, he was going to snort with laughter and roll his eyes, revealing himself while half-heartedly reprimanding her for being so insistent...

"...I can't." he sighed resignedly.

"You can't" she said. "Even for me?"

Batman flinched. "Diana, you know this has nothing to do with you—"

"I'm asking you, because I'm never going to see you again." she said, "Does that mean nothing to you?"

Batman stayed quiet.

"You're going to leave—after everything that's gone on, between us and..." Diana bit her lip anxiously, "...I just don't want to act like nothing ever happened, that's all."

Diana felt this would change his mind, that he would see the reasoning behind it all. She reached out for his arm, but he leaned his body out of reach.

"See you around then," she said with a forced smile, "Or not."

And with that she hurried down the steps and toward the door, her eyes now unpleasantly hot.

She had just put one step past the door way when—

"Diana—Wait, _DIANA!"_

Diana quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her palm before turning around.

"Yes?" she said coldly.

If Batman was put-off by her frosty exterior, he didn't show it.

"Listen, I know that I sound harsh, but it's not only for my own benefit, you could be in serious danger if I told—"

"I think I can look after myself, thank you very much." she said harshly, "And if all you wanted to talk about was my welfare then I can assure you that—"

"Will you help me with something?"

"—I don't need you to look after me—Wait—What?" Diana spluttered, so bewildered that she didn't remember her animosity. "Help you? How—"

"With The Joker, do you want to help me?" he asked earnestly. "Matter of fact—do you want to help me with Gotham, in general?"

"I—Er—Yes, Of course I do," she said hastily, "But what are you suggesting—"

"Excellent!" he said contentedly, "Now, there will be a fundraiser tonight for Harvey Dent, hosted by Bruce Wayne. An appearance by the Justice League, to endorse Harvey Dent's recent actions, will be invaluable to the reestablishment of the Gotham Judiciary and Law Enforcement."

Diana didn't know where to begin. Harvey Dent? Bruce Wayne? _Fundraiser? _A disorienting flood of questions sprang to her mind, and Batman must have anticipated this, for he reached into his belt while saying, "Listen, I know that this is very sudden, and I know you have questions, don't worry—this will explain everything." Batman held up a small rectangular chip to her eyes.

Diana stared at it with a blank expression on her face. "Um...what is it?"

Batman's eyes gleamed, he flicked the chip in his hands. "_This _little gem contains all the information you'll need about the party and the guests—"

"_Party!?"_ she blurted, completely caught off-guard. "I thought you said this was a fundraiser?"

"Er—oh yes, I forgot—well, that is what a fundraiser essentially is: a party..." he trailed off faintly, now looking very distraught. Diana was given the sudden impression that he just now realized what he had done. She smirked as a sudden thought struck her.

"Of course I'll accept, Batman." she said rather grandly, snatching the chip out of his hands. "Now, what time will _we_ be arriving?"

Batman look horrified.

"What? Oh, no Diana. I won't be in attendance—well, I will be, but not as Br—"

Diana leaned forward excitedly.

"—rtaman" he corrected quickly, a small grin on his face. "I'll be patrolling the event. Which brings me to my next point." His grin faded into a stern glare, "You must promise me, Diana, that you—and the League—will not participate in any type of violence when you're there—"

"Are you expecting _something _to happen?" she asked quizzically.

"No" he said quickly.

Diana eyed him doubtfully.

A grin flashed across Batman's face.

"Alright." He said with a snort. "I do expect something. This is Gotham we're talking about, it has the reputation to boil up nasty surprises when you least expect it."

"But if something _does _happen," she said impatiently. "You can't expect me to just sit around and do nothi—!"

"_If _something happens that _I_ cannot handle," he said coolly. "You may then intervene."

Diana frowned. "How will I know if you can't handle the situation?"

"If Darksied shows up Diana, you can assume I won't engage him by myself."

"Ha" she said dully.

Batman rummaged in his belt again and withdrew what appeared to be 6 flesh-colored earbuds. "This is how we'll communicate," he explained, dropping the small bundle into her palm. "They're a double-package, receives audio and transmits—the device picks up on your vocal vibrations and translates them into audio feedback."

Diana eyed the small little earpieces with interest, "Must have cost a fortune."

"You could say that," he said mildly. "That's about 20 million in your hand, right there."

Diana faintly noticed how casual he was about it. "Seriously? You have that kind of money?"

"More like access." He said, shrugging. "So. Now that everything is settled...I shall see you in the evening."

"So you _are_ going to be there?"

Batman smirked. "I'll see you. You won't see me."

Diana was staring at the chip curiously before she noticed he was still standing in front of her, staring at her feet, looking very awkward.

"Something else you'd like to say?" she said kindly.

Batman's eyes darted back up to her face.

"What?" he said hastily, "Oh, nothing. Nothing...I'll be going, then."

"See you."

He nodded curtly and set off toward the teleporter.

Diana was pocketing the communicators when she re-entered the Monitor Womb, she was greeted by apprehensive faces and hesitant smiles—everyone waiting with grim ancitipation.

"Everything go alright?" Clark asked cautiously, slowly egging away from her.

Diana smirked. She held up the chip in her hands so that everyone could see it plainly.

"Want to go to a party?"


	5. Invitation

"So he _definitely _said that we're _all _invited to go? Diana, he definitely said—"

"Yes, WALLY! For the millionth time, he definitely said you're _all _invited!"

"Alright, alright woman!" Flash said alarmingly, holding his hands up apprehensively, "I was just checking—I don't want to trespass on his territory, that's all."

Diana rubbed her face tiredly, for the past hour she had been bombarded by questions.

"What _exactly_ did he say, Diana?"

"_How_ did he say it, Diana?"

"Diana, where did you get those ear-pieces?"

"_20 million dollars_!?"

The only person who hadn't flooded her with questions was J'onn, who immediately seized the tiny chip in her hand the moment before Clark, Shayera, Wally, and John rounded on her.

"So what time do we arrive, John!?" Diana asked rather loudly, for Shayera was looming behind her, undoubtedly ready to plunge into another frenzy of questions.

J'onn looked up mildly from the computer, "It says here, officially, it begins at 8p.m. The guest of honor will make a speech at 9 p.m. and the fundraiser host will set off the festivities with a speech at 10p.m."

Wally and John looked dumbfounded.

"Guest of honor?"

"Fundraiser Host?"

"Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne, respectively." J'onn said shrewdly.

"So what's so special about this 'Harvey Dent'?" Flash said lazily.

J'onn drew up a series of files, "Harvey Dent, nicknamed _Apollo_ and _Gotham's White Knight_, is the newly elected District Attorney of Gotham Ci-"

"White Knight?" Shayera asked.

"Apollo!?" Diana said indignantly.

J'onn looked absolutely exasperated.

"Due to Harvey Dent's pristine, handsome, and fierce reputation in Gotham City, he has been nicknamed _Apollo, _and _White Knight_. _Apollo _represents Dent's good-looks and clean reputation, while _White Knight _represents his valor and strict moral code—a mirror image of Batman's _Dark Knight _moniker, for he substitutes valor and strict morality for ferocity and..." J'onn smiled ruefully, "... a _slight_ disregard for morals."

Wally cackled madly. "Slight disregard? Heh! If you call 'breaking every bone in their body during an interrogation', a _slight disregard, _then I'd hate to see _total disregard_!"

Everyone laughed, even the corners of J'onn's mouth twitched.

Diana, however, didn't join in the hilarity. She was scowling deeply at the screen.

"_Apollo_," she said loftily, "is the God of truth, prophecy, and healing. He is highly revered and respected in my world, and although this _Harvey Dent_ may well reflect similar qualities, I do not see why mortal men _continue_ to name themselves after gods-!"

Superman cleared his throat rather loudly. Diana stopped mid-rant, a small twinge of embarrassment squirming inside of her as everyone eyed her amusedly. She smiled sheepishly and nodded for J'onn to continue.

"Now, I believe that we should run through a quick summary of the important information on the fundraiser—after all, we do not want to arrive completely clueless on the man we are supposed to be endorsing."

J'onn eyed Flash in particular.

"Ok." Shayera asked. "What do we need to know?"

J'onn swiftly brought up a series of files and pictures, he highlighted one in particular. It was the official City-Portrait of Harvey Dent, and (Diana had to agree) he was indeed very handsome. His boyish face seemed to instill a sense of trust, and his dashing hair, smile and eyes contained a certain allure that Diana felt was very popular with the ladies.

"He is reported to be charming, fierce, and brave," J'onn's voice droned on, "Not to mention he is a brutal upholder of the Law—just a week ago, he was responsible for the arrests of 126 criminals, including several infamous mob leaders."

Clark and John both whistled, impressed.

"What? What's so impressive?" Wally demanded, "We take down hundreds of idiots every year—not to mention Meta-humans, which make these punks look like paper."

"I have to agree with Wally on this," Diana said, surprising herself. "We've accomplished equal if not greater victories." A pang of anger shot through her, "and besides, Batman has taken down thousands of criminals, yet he isn't praised so eloquently," she snapped defensively.

This time, it wasn't J'onn who answered, but Clark.

"You misunderstand, Diana," he said calmly. "Mr. Dent _publicly_ arrested these Mobsters, and by doing so, he spat in the faces of Gotham's underworld—he's essentially painted a bulls-eye on the back of his suit. Batman, on the otherhand, doesn't openly defy anyone, his mask protects his identity—"

"Don't you dare call him a coward, Kal-el," she said angrily, "He wears that mask to protect his allies from danger, much like your disguise as Clark Kent."

Superman winced at his intimate name, "No no Diana, I'm not calling him a coward; you just need to put two-and-two together. Batman himself told me years ago, that the primary reason he wears a mask—other than protecting those he cares about—is because he cannot accomplish his goals through his mortal self, he created Batman because he needed to become a symbol."

Diana stared at Clark as if he had gone mad.

"But Batman _is _mortal," she said slowly, as if this was painfully obvious, "because _Batman_ is a human being."

Superman grinned, "Well yes, the man behind the cowl is mortal...but what _Batman_ stands for is an everlasting symbol, a symbol that _cannot _be as easily destroyed as a human—understand?" he said with a hopeful air.

Now everyone was staring at Superman as if he had gone mad.

"It's genius, really!" insisted Superman, looking much unperturbed. "Look, we all wondered why Batman never told us his identity, we thought it was a trust issue—which is partially the reason—but it's much more than that. It's the whole point of his mask. He hides his identity, and therefore hides his _mortality—_and thus he could be anywhere, at anytime, and _anyone!" _

Wally stifled a yawn. "That's a really epic speech Clark, but what does this have to do with Harvey Dent bagging all those criminals?"

Superman sighed,"_No respect..._Anyway, look, as a reporter you research and you pick up on things, and one of those is looking between the lines—one of the first jobs I had was that piece on Gotham, and like I said before: It was Filthy. I mean Gotham was a cesspool and nightmare wrapped up in one."

"Now, when Batman arrived and dismantled a portion of the corruption, it gave the city a sense of hope. It gave them some security that there was someone patrolling the rooftops, protecting them from the wrath of the mob. Batman's presence scared criminals, they didn't move as freely as they used to, weren't as open in the city. With this opening, Gotham law enforcement and prosecutors began to slowly take back the street, and with each arrest they grew bolder and stronger, steadily increasing in power over the years."

"But by your logic Clark, the Mob will take back the streets as soon as they see Batman is no longer patrolling the city" Diana said. "The criminals don't fear the police, they fear Batman."

This time John stepped in.

"You see that's the significance of Harvey's actions" he said sagely, "Until now, nobody was brave enough to openly defy the mob. Before, if you did so, you would come home to a murdered wife, a murdered son...you get the idea." he said with a grim smile.

"And..." Superman said, his voice ringing. "If Harvey can successfully convict the Mob, then the Batman will no longer be needed to terrify the criminals—Harvey Dent will take over that role."

At last, it began to make sense to her. Some things were a bit fuzzy, but the general idea had sunken in. Dent is the turning point in Gotham's recovery. Dent is the successor to the Batman.

"So is this why Mr. Bruce Wayne is throwing Dent a fundraiser?" she said aloud, her mind flashing back to the party. "He also understands the importance of Dent's success?"

Superman snorted.

"Maybe. Bruce Wayne is a well known playboy and womanizer; he throws parties and fundraisers all time for anyone who is of importance—just to attract the supermodels and beautiful women that arrive at such events. He's been known to buy-out entire restaurants and hotels if he doesn't have a reservation, he's also—"

"How rich is this guy!?" Wally exclaimed.

"Billions." Supermen said simply, smirking at Wally's thunderstruck face. "He's CEO of Wayne Enterprises—one of the largest and most powerful defense companies in the world. Forbes has consistently ranked him in the annual Top 10 Wealthiest Individuals on Earth."

"How do you know so much about Wayne anyway?" asked Wally, his eyes far-away and his mind undoubtedly dreaming on what he would do with such wealth.

Superman's face grew slightly irritated, "Lois was enamored with Wayne a few years back...insisted on telling me every detail about him when I first started working."

Diana could have laughed, honestly, the enormously powerful and handsome Superman was jealous of some idiot with a large bank account. She refrained, however, as she was all too aware how men reacted when in compared with other men—idiotic.

"I agree with Lois' current choice," said Diana warmly, "Wayne doesn't have your heart, Clark."

"Or his muscles." quipped Shayera.

"_Or _muscles." Diana said reasonably.

Superman chuckled, eyeing one of his bulging arms out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks, girls."

"So!" barked Wally, snapping out of his fantasy with a very serious demeanor. "What does Wayne look like? I think it would be highly offensive to show up and not even know the host's face. I mean it would be horrible manners."

Shayera and Diana exchanged glances.

She was sure that they both were thinking the same thing: That it had nothing to do with bad manners and everything to do with buttering up to Bruce Wayne and his enormous checkbook.

Superman burst out laughing. "You're assuming too much Wally, all you have to do is compliment him and he'll fall all over you."

"He likes men too!?" Flash gasped, looking horror-struck. "Does this guy have no limits!?"

"He doesn't like men," snapped Superman. "It's just a figure of speech. But now that we're on the topic, the only thing that will insult Wayne or make him feel uncomfortable is to talk about his childhood."

"Really?" Diana said curiously. "Why is that?"

"His parents were killed right in front of him," he said grimly.

Diana blinked. "Killed?" she repeated, as if she hadn't heard him. "An accident, or a-"

"Murder," Superman said quietly, "They were shot by a mugger, he ran off with Bruce's dad's wallet, and almost ran off with his mom's pearls...he was 8 years old."

"Oh...that's...that's harsh." Shayera said, frowning. "How'd Bruce take it?"

Superman shrugged, "As well as you'd expect, he lived with his butler in his mansion for another 10 years. Then he left, disappeared for another 10 years, and then when he came back..." Superman smiled slightly, "When he came back he became the Bruce Wayne we all know and love—never shows up anywhere without a different leggy girl."

Superman stifled a yawn and ran a hand through his hair. "Must be nice to be the Prince of Gotham."

Diana's eyebrows rose involuntarily, "Prince?" she asked keenly, "I know he's rich, but I thought the royal system didn't exist in the American Government?"

"Relax, your highness," Shayera said humbly, bowing down majestically to Diana. "It's an expression, you're the only true royalty here."

"You're not as funny as you think you are, you know." Diana said gruffly.

Shayera grinned. "Heh."

"So can we get on with this party now!?" Wally piped up. "All this talk about leggy blondes and Bruce Wayne's penthouse has gotten me excited. Oh I need to get a suit and..." Wally trailed off as he ran out of the room, no doubt to prepare himself for the evening.

Superman chuckled, "Yeah sure, sure. Let's go"

John cleared his throat. "Wait, I hate to be a downer...but what about this, _Joker_guy?"

The room's atmosphere immediately plunged at the mention of the madman from the screen.

"Batman said he could handle it." Diana said firmly. "We'll leave it up to him."

"Yes...and we'll be there to help should he ask for assistance" Superman said in a not so confident voice. Diana was sure he didn't believe it for a second.

"So do we arrive in our uniforms...or do we show up in social wear?" John asked, scratching his chin. "I mean I could show up in a tux...I just bought these new cufflinks and..."

J'onn folded his arms carefully. "In order for the League to arrive as a single unit—as that is the essential point of our appearance—all members with secret identities will show up in their uniform...those whose identities are not secret to the world, can choose to arrive in uniform, or more formal wear."

"Excellent" Superman barked, clapping J'onn on the back. "I'll show up in my suit, Clark Kent dresses too closes to tuxes and coats."

"So we're going to have to go buy a suit and dress, Johnny" Shayera laughed mischievously. "Match the cufflinks and all."

John groaned.

Shayera turned to Diana and smirked, "We don't have it as bad as you though Princess, EVERY single man is going to ask you for a dance. I remember those two articles in the Daily Planet, "Wonder Woman voted in top 10 of 'Beautiful Women' and "Wonder Woman no longer single? Photo shows her and famous soldier Steve Trevor locked in Embrace"

Diana groaned at this, she was indeed voted in the "prestigious" top 10 list of 'Most Beautiful Women Alive" by a stupid magazine. She was voted in by a picture of her in combat. She damaged a fire hydrant during a fight with some petty thugs, and when she attempted to plug the leak, somebody snapped a photo of her...her hair was very wet and stuck to her body and armor in very...suggestive ways. She never modeled or tried to gain attention, but her battle outfit didn't leave much to the imagination. Still, Diana didn't care, _its Amazonian battle armor forged by the gods,_she reminded herself, she was proud to wear it in battle. As for the article with Steve, it was when they first started dating; she didn't anticipate the massive attention they'd receive. They stated publicly that it wasn't intimate, but they continued to see each other in secret.

"Annnnddd..." continued Shayera, walking down the hall toward the teleporter as the team dissipated for the evening."You can't bring Steve! He's on duty, so you'll be alone, and everyone thinks your single!"

Diana rubbed her head, very much annoyed. "Yes Shayera, you're right." she muttered, "I'll just have to hide away somewhere".

Shayera laughed at mussed Diana's hair, "We'll be fine Diana, come on, let's get ready."

As they each took the teleporter to different locations, Shayera nudged Diana as she walked passed, "I just remembered" Shayera whispered. "Batman personally invited YOU first, didn't he? Interesting huh?"

Diana tended to an imaginary knot in her hair.


	6. The Fundraiser

WAYNE PENTHOUSE

"God, that was a stupid move." sighed Bruce.

"Not quite sir, I interpreted it as an important step toward your retirement." Alfred replied promptly.

Bruce finished tying up his tie and turned to Alfred, "You really think Gotham won't need me after Dent?"

Alfred looked at Bruce's tie disdainfully, and slapped Bruce's hands out of the way, "Honestly sir, you amaze me with your total lack of knowledge for social wear. And yes, you've waged war on the streets for years; it is time for Gotham City to do her part." Alfred stepped back and admire his charge. He was moving on. He was going to hang up the Cape and Cowl for good...no more sleepless nights, no more bleeding...it would be over.

"So you do or you don't think I should have told the League my identity?" Bruce asked.

Alfred grinned, and patted his charge on the shoulders, "Master Bruce, you invited them to a party, in _your_ home, I think it's too late to reconsider. But, I do believe you did all you can without revealing yourself."

Bruce ran a hand through his yet-to-be-combed hair, and down to his neck, rubbing it tiredly. "Yeah, that's the same reasoning I followed."

"Only a few people know Master Wayne, aside myself. That would be Rachel and Mr. Fox." Alfred said, "And I doubt they will say anything...speaking of Mr. Fox, how'd your meeting go with him?"

Bruce removed and held up a key from his pocket, "For the new Tumbler. It has alll sorts of new toys and bells and whistles. Even has an emergency contingency should the Tumbler be damaged...if that Tank comes across something it can't squash, that is." he muttered dryly.

Alfred chuckled, "And what of that package he sent over? Have you set-up that _toy _yet?"

Bruce slid his hand into his pocket and removed two cellular phones. He handed one to Alfred, and grinned, "This will surely help you seat everyone I think."

Alfred scoffed at the phone in his hand, "Hmph, I do not need some hi-tech gizmo in order to do my job, I have years of astute experience to rely on" Alfred then turned a vaguely interested eye toward his device "Er...what does this do, Master Wayne?"

"Besides the capacity to call/message people, without actually being in the same room with them?" Bruce replied, grinning, "And even _that_ is possible now, you can use this feature where the camera becomes a—"

Alfred narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "Yes Master Bruce, besides the obvious."

Bruce smiled smugly, "Just checking Alfred." He then turned on his phone and selected an application.  
"This," Bruce explained, holding up the phone's display. "Is a high-frequency generator. It amplifies the electronic pulses within radio and wavelength electrical devices, and oscillates them into the environment. When the pulses bounce back, this device records the response time and maps out an environment. The information is sent to the computer in the penthouse, and then the information is projected onto this screen—like this. " Bruce touched the screen, and a hollow, blueprint-like map immediately sprang to life.

"Helpful isn't it?"

Alfred eyed the device, and the Bruce, and finally, sighed heavily, "Master Wayne, was I expected to understand any of that? Can you explain it to me in less...Wayne Enterprises terms?"

Bruce laughed and shrugged his shoulders, "It's sonar Alfred, it sends out signals, and then maps out the environment."  
Alfred rolled his eyes, and chuckled "Just like a Bat...Very good Master Wayne, that's more like it." Alfred peered curiously at the device in his hand, "Master Wayne, where is the source of this device?"

Bruce piqued his head, curious.

Alfred lifted his hand lazily around the room, "It maps out the room, where does the device shoot out the signals to record?"

Bruce grinned, this was the genius behind the device.

He took out a third phone from his pocket, and gave it to Alfred.  
Alfred turned the phone over, confused, "But this is my cellular, sir?"

Bruce nodded, "Yes Alfred. It is your phone. And that's where the signal comes from; the constant wireless connection stream that every mobile device sends to a satellite."

Alfred stared at the phone before gasping with delight. His eyes widening. "Oh...that's very clever sir. Everyone carries a mobile phone with them these days, and thus—"

"—I can map out any environment, without the need for big cumbersome equipment." Bruce finished, a satisfactory smile on his face.

Alfred turned over his the device, fascinated, "This isn't legal I presume?"he said mildly without looking up.

Bruce put his device away, "Of course not Alfred, nothing we do is legal".

"A shame you couldn't have thought this up sooner sir," said Alfred, staring down wistfully at the device, "It would have done wonders for your nightly excursions."

Bruce shook his head, "It wouldn't have, Wayne Satellites is still a year away from launching, and that's what I need to screen all of Gotham." Bruce pointed to the walls of the penthouse, "This sonar works because of the relatively small size of my penthouse compared to the rest of Gotham. There are sensors in the walls that enable this technology to work efficiently enough to map out a practical live feed of the environment. If I was to map out all of Gotham, I would need a satellite, or giant sensors located around the city...both of which are impractical, they would raise too many questions...and it's morally questionable...it's too much power."

Alfred frowned, "I'm sorry Master Wayne, I was caught up in the power of this device...but yes...this technology in the hands of someone with negative intentions would be..."

"Disastrous" Bruce said grimly, "It's the kind of power that I warned the League about...the hurdle isn't whether a good or a bad person uses it...the problem is somebody using it in the first place. It's power is too great to for one person".

Bruce looked at Alfred's device, "Using it for small matters like these, it's harmless...but-"

"But on a grand-scale...the complications are huge" Alfred said quietly, "Like a nuclear bomb."

"Exactly."

Alfred slid the device into his pocket, "We'll make sure it never comes to that sir." Alfred's eyes regained their twinkle, "Now sir, the preparations?"

Bruce slid into his dinner jacket, "Now, about the League Alfred, when they arrive, tell them I let them in without needing to pay a dime. I don't want Bruce Wayne to come off as unappreciative of their appearance" Bruce fixed a watch onto his wrist. "You'll need to personally escort them in Alfred; you know what they all look like?"

Alfred walked over to the end of the room, accepting a guest list from a waiter. "Yes sir, your constant monitoring of the Watchtower has left an indelible mark in my head, particularly the Princess."

"Duly noted. So what time should I arrive?"

"Well that depends sir, if you wish to arrive as Bruce Wayne, the Secret Protector of Gotham's Well-being...I'd say around 8:30."

"And if I want to arrive as Bruce Wayne, Playboy Philanthropist?" Bruce asked, a small smirk on his face.

Alfred never looked up from the guest list, "10:30,"

Bruce snorted.

* * *

9P.M. - Wayne PENTHOUSE

Diana, John, and Shayera were immediately bombarded by the press when they arrived; cameras were shoved in their faces and reporters shouting in their ears. John was in a tuxedo, with a green tie and matching cufflinks, his ring completing the green motif. Shayera wore a beautiful black dress that accentuated her legs, and complimented her wings. Diana wore a white gown that blended into an ocean blue, her raven black hair matching perfectly, while her silver gauntlets doubled as protective garments, and as an elegant accessory. J'onn, Flash, and Superman wore their uniforms proudly, but made some modifications to appear grander. Superman and J'onn ditched their capes, and both wore a black fog coat, which nicely covered their shoulders and uniforms. Flash decided to wear a black sports jacket, and along with his red pants and mask, gave off the feeling of a formal, yet casual youth. They were surprised (and relieved) to be led into the party by a dapper older gentleman, Alfred Pennyworth. He greeted them humbly and led them to their seats, cheerily reporting to Diana and Shayera of the guests who would make ill advances on them.

"Mr. Pennyworth, thank you very much." Diana said as she sat down.

"Yes sir, thank you for getting us out of that camera zone" John said relieved.

"Thank you sir" Shayera hastily added, looking up from the war her wings were waging against a chair.

"Now, now, none of that 'Mr. Pennyworth', or 'sir', nonsense. call me Alfred please—over here, Brian!"

Alfred signaled to a young man, and was promptly brought over a chair with a strange large holes bore into its back.

Alfred formally asked Shayera to stand, and placed the new chair in her place with a bow.  
"Master Wayne informed me of your needs, I hope you can forgive me for not offering this to you sooner."

Shayera sat down and snugly fit her wings into the chair, "This fits perfectly, thank you very much."

Alfred beamed, "You're very welcome Miss."

"How do you know Bruce Wayne?" Diana asked suddenly.

Alfred's eyes twinkled, "I am the Wayne Butler, I raised Master Bruce since he was born, and after the tragedy that befell his parents."

Diana frowned at this, "Oh yes, I heard about that, it's really a horrible thing to happen to a child."

Alfred's eyes saddened, "Yes, yes it was indeed..."

"He's ok now though right?" Flash said automatically, seemingly sympathetic, but he was secretly eyeing the food.

Alfred smiled, "He is fine, evidenced by the fact that he probably will arrive late" Alfred let out a sigh, "Oh well, it's better than the alternative." Alfred looked at Flash, and pointed to the food, "Eat up sir, the food isn't there simply for decoration."

"What's that huge line for Alfred?" J'onn asked, as he pointed to a line outside of the elevator, "Should we be in it?"

Alfred shook his head, "No, no sir. That line is for guests to validate their donations, or for those who wish to make a donation."

"Oh...but don't we have to offer ours?" Superman said worriedly, "I didn't know-"

Alfred shook his head again, smiling, "No Mr. Superman, Master Wayne wouldn't have it—he flatly denied it, actually. He considers it a great honor to host the League, and I can't say I don't agree."

"Oh...well thank you very much Alfred." Diana said warmly, "Can we extend our thanks to Bruce?"

"You will be able to—when he shows up that is" Alfred added, looked around annoyed.

A ringing noise came out of Alfred's breast pocket, where Alfred withdrew a cell phone. He looked at it and smiled, "I'm afraid I'll have to leave your company" he said kindly as he pocketed his phone, "I am needed elsewhere." Alfred gave a bow to them, and quickly left.

"He seems very nice" Shayera said brightly, after his figure was lost in the horde that was the guests.

"Must be neat to have a family Butler." John said musingly.

Flash grinned. "Master Wayne huh?"

"And he let us in for free"noted Diana , she turned to Superman, "Are you sure this is the Same Bruce Wayne playboy you told me about?"

Superman laughed and shrugged, "Maybe he is just trying to seduce you Diana"

Diana smirked, "Right. I already know too much about him, he wouldn't last a second."

Shayera looked around, "So where do you think Batman is huh? He said he'd be here."

Diana reached up to her ear and turned the communicator on...

Nothing.

"Well, I still can't talk to him...it's a one-way communicator." She poked her ear and shrugged, "Just keep the earpieces on us for now until he mak—"

Thunderous applause cut off Diana, everyone turned to see the source of the noise. The horde of people that crowded the room was parting in two, as if a knife was cutting through the crowd.

"What? Who is it?" Flashed asked, stretching his head to get a look.

"Is is Wayne?" Diana asked curiously.

Superman squinted his eyes; he saw through the crowd his vision. "No...it's Harvey Dent."

**2 Hours Later – 11p.m**

"...I wish to apologize again that I started so late, but we wanted to wait as long as we could for the host. Speaking of the host, I wish to conclude with the fact that I'm extraordinarily grateful to be here tonight, but especially of Mr. Bruce Wayne." Harvey Dent drawled, "He adamantly insisted on this fundraiser, and though I'm not up for re-election for 4 years, I am deeply humbled at his gratitude." Harvey looked around the crowd, "Is he here yet?"  
The crowd murmured and looked at one another, nobody has seen Bruce.  
"Well" Harvey smiled, "I'm sure Mr. Wayne is tied up at the moment" Harvey pointed to a woman to right, "My beautiful D.A. assistant and girlfriend Rachel Dawes is a childhood friend of Bruce, and she will tell you that Mr. Wayne is a very busy man." The Crowd laughed and applauded, Harvey Dent grinned.

"What's so funny?" Flash quietly whispered.

"It's a joke Flash" Superman answered.

Flash looked at Superman incredulously, "Oh no way Sup? I didn't realize that. I meant WHAT was the joke about?"

J'onn spoke up, "Bruce Wayne is notorious for waking up at 2p.m. and for sleeping during Wayne Enterprises meetings. He lives a very eccentric night life."

Flash stared at J'onn, and then shrugged. "Wasn't that funny..."

"Quiet!" Diana hissed, "He's mentioning us."

The League looked at Dent immediately, interested.

Dent pointed to the League, "I'm also very aware of the fine individuals that have come to support the city's cause. I am grateful for you aid and I wish to thank you, on behalf of the cities Judiciary and Law Enforcement." Harvey extended a hand in their direction, and applauded. The crowd joined in the applause, and everyone's attention was focused on the League.

The League bowed their heads in sheepish acceptance, they had no idea they'd make this big a scene. Everyone looked at Superman, who grinned and stood up. "Thank you Mr. Dent, for the kind words. We are very happy to be here, as we look upon the good you have done in this city, and we wish to congratulate you on your recent successes." Superman raised a glass and the crowd applauded and shifted its gaze back to Dent.

Harvey smiled and addressed the crowd, "On the topic of Fine individuals, there is one individual of Gotham, who I have not addressed, yet deserves, equal if not more praise than I have received."

Diana's eyebrows shot up at this, was Dent speaking about the person she thought he was speaking about_?_

The League traded a glance; they all thought the same thing.

"The Batman" Dent said quietly, the room went deathly as he brought up a taboo subject. "Yes he is a vigilante, he has broken many laws, and rules...yet he does what he does what he does, because I believe that he truly cares for this city. He is consistently overlooked, and unappreciated. I myself would not be standing here, if not for the work of Batman before me." Harvey grinned that dazzling smile again, "I know I waste my time by thanking him, for he is probably out right now, patrolling the streets, breaking the arm of some poor thug who made the sad decision to cross the Batman." The crowd murmured with Laughter again.

Superman snorted, "Yeah, he's got that right."

Diana smiled "Very eloquently put".

"So I would like to thank Mr. Wayne, The League, Batman, and most of all, The Citizens of Gotham, for their support. Thank you" Dent finished, as the crowd erupted in applause. Dent walked over to Rachel and kissed her, smiling.

"He certainly is a very good speaker" Shayera noted.

"Yeah, he does know how to work a room" Flash remarked as he bit into a slice of pie.

"I think I can understand Batman's point now" Diana stated seriously, "Harvey Dent looks like a worthy successor."

"You think he heard all that praise and stuff?" John asked, looking around the room.

"Probably" Superman nodded, "I bet behind all that black, he's smiling."

Diana smiled, "Oh yes, as if Batman could smi-"

Again she was cut off by a loud sound, this time; it was a deafening roar of a helicopter's engine. They all looked out the window, and a giant Black Helicopter with the letter **W **emblazoned on the side of it, descended onto the helipad outside the penthouse.

The Helicopter's door opened, and three gorgeous supermodels slid out; a blonde, redhead, and a brunette. Finally a man in a black suit, with sleeked black hair slid out of the cockpit. He had his back turned to the crowd as he straightened out his suit and talked to the models. Finally, he turned around, hands around two of the models waists, with the third walking leisurely next to the trio.

Flash leaned toward Superman, "I'm guessing this is Bruce Wayne eh?"

Superman smirked as he watched Bruce Wayne enter, "What I tell you, never goes anywhere without some leggy girls at his side."

Diana looked at Bruce Wayne with mild interest, he was taller than he appeared in the papers, and he certainly was handsome...but not in the playboy manner she expected. She expected some very arrogant, flamboyant person...but Bruce Wayne looked like he like an old movie-star...sleek-hair, dapper suits, gorgeous woman...

"Sorry I'm late!" Bruce announced, a charming smile on his face, "But I'm glad to see you all got started without me."

Bruce scanned the crowd, "Now, where is Harvey..." Bruce spotted him. "Harvey Dent." He scanned the room again, "Now where is Rachel Dawes?" he spotted her too, "Come here Rachel."

Bruce cleared his throat, "Now Rachel is my only childhood friend here." Bruce stopped and raised a slightly mocked finger to his chin then pointed to his Butler. "Besides Alfred that is" the Crowd laughed.

Bruce smiled, "When Rachel first told me she was dating Harvey Dent. I only had one thing to say" Bruce paused and looked to the crowd...

"The guy from those _awful_ campaign commercials!?" Bruce gushed out incredulously. The crowd laughed and giggled. Harvey smiled slightly.

"I **_believe_** in Harvey Dent?" Bruce said ridiculously, he turned to Harvey, "Yeah Nice Slogan Harvey." Bruce turned to Rachel, acknowledging her "But it caught Rachel's attention."

Bruce turned back to Harvey and composed himself, "And then I started to pay more attention to Harvey...our New D.A." Bruce turned to the crowd, serious. "And you know what?"

Bruce turned back to Harvey and nodded his head, "I Believe in Harvey Dent...I believe that on His watch, Gotham will continue to grow...it will continue to thrive...it can be a little more optimistic."

Bruce looked to the League and extended a hand, "I'm sure our super friends here will agree with me...that Harvey Dent is a true Hero."

Diana may have imagined it, but she could have sworn that Bruce Wayne specifically met her eyes. She gazed back at him coolly, and stood up, "Yes, we agree with you Mr. Wayne"

Bruce smiled at her and nodded, he turned back to Harvey. "I want everyone to look at Harvey...look at this face; this is the face of Gotham's bright future." Bruce began clapping, "Let's hear it for him." The crowd broke into applause as Harvey smiled and extended a hand to Bruce. Bruce shook it and grabbed a champagne glass from a waiter, he raised it high, "Now let's enjoy ourselves shall we!?" The crowd laughed at this as the chatter from the many conversations within the crowd rose up.

"Wow...what an ass," Shayera remarked.

"What?" Flash exclaimed, "He totally praised Harvey and all, I mean yeah he was late, and he made fun of him, but you heard all that mumbo-jumbo about "Gotham's bright future"

"You just like him because of the models he had on him." John stated bluntly

Flash looked indignant, "What?! I am not that superficial, how dare you think that I'm s—"

"Flash?" Superman smirked.

Flash let out a laugh, "Ok ok you got me, I mean c'mon! He walked in with two supermodels slinked around him. And one of them had to walk beside him!"

"A real womanizer eh Diana?" Shayera grinned as she nudged her side.

"It's all his money" Diana stated simply.

"Psh! Yeah right, that's what I thought too!" Shayera exclaimed, "But I mean did you see him? He looks like James Bond, or a-"

"Ahem" John coughed, glaring at Shayera.

Shayera grinned mischievously, "Oh John, do you really think I'd pick Bruce Wayne over you?"

"Oh no way, I just took your flattery remarks towards him as purely for evaluation purposes" John replied sarcastically.

Shayera sighed, "A girl can't compliment a man anymore can she?"

"Uh John, why don't you and Shayera go dance. "Superman quickly interjected, "It's a slow tune and it sounds real beautiful."

This quickly snapped Shayera out of her mood, and she latched onto John's hand, "Oh that's wonderful, c'mon Johnny, I like waltzing."

John gave Superman a grunt of thanks as he got up and walked Shayera to the dance floor.

"You'll have to excuse me as well" J'onn said suddenly.

"What, you're going to Dance too?" Flash asked, amused.

"No no...I'm going to go over to the dessert table," J'onn said as he stood up and walked away.

"Dessert?" Diana asked.

Superman squinted at the dessert table and smiled, "Oreos"

Flash raised his head "Ahhh" He turned toward the Supermodels that were obviously uncomfortable talking to the Rich, Old men who advanced on them. "Well Folks, I'd hate to leave this little table, but I see some damsels in need of some rescuing" Flash stood up, fixed his sports coat, and rushed off in the girl's direction.

Superman grinned, "That's our hero, saving the world, one supermodel at a time." He turned to Diana, "I'm going to speak to Harvey Dent, to offer him a personal thanks for a 'job well done, success.' Blah-blah-blah.

Diana looked at Superman quizzically, "Didn't we already do that?"

Superman nodded, "Yes, but we just can't come here and say a few words and be done with it. In order for this to fully work, you have to think like a reporter." Superman's eyes twinkled, "I'll go pose for photos, talk to the rich about Harvey being great for Gotham...you know. Stuff that reporters will eat up".

Diana nodded, "You want my assistance?"

Superman shrugged, "Yeah sure" Superman grinned and pointed to the crowd, "but you'll probably be asked to dance if you walk through that horde."

Diana groaned. "And If I just sit here and do nothing?"

Superman laughed again, "You'll probably be asked to dance."

Diana narrowed her eyes at him, "And what's stopping a lovely lady from asking you to dance huh?"

Superman winked and pointed to Dent "I've got a job to do for now." Superman turned to an invisible woman, "Sorry Miss, but I really do need to talk to Harvey Dent, rain check?"

Diana rolled her eyes, "Very cute Superman" She turned her head and spotted Bruce Wayne, who walked out of the penthouse and onto the Balcony. She piqued her head curious, why is Gotham's playboy seeking isolation? Diana smiled as another dark figure came to mind. _Are all of Gotham's interesting men brooders?_

She nodded toward Bruce, "I have a job too. I'm going to extend the League's thanks for allowing us in without a donation."

Superman turned to his head to Bruce and smirked. "Oh yeah, and he just happens to be Gotham's bachelor has nothing to do with it?"

Diana looked unperturbed "I'm with Steve, and I'm sure Bruce Wayne doesn't have the heart of a soldier."

Superman shrugged, "No, but he has seen his fair share of War." Superman stood up and nodded to Diana as he buttoned up his coat "I'll see you in a bit, and don't be surprised if your plan backfires, and Mr. Playboy asks you to dance."

Diana stood up and nodded, "See you in a bit Kal."


	7. Bruce Wayne

Diana walked toward the giant glass doors that led to the Balcony and picked up a champagne glass as she passed a waiter, _When in Rome_ she mused as she sipped the drink. She smacked her lips and looked at the glass with appreciation _Mr. Wayne here knows his drinks, and certainly does know his ways around a good party_ she thought as she looked at the seemingly endless amount of bottles and glass around the room. She saw Wayne accept a drink from a waiter who walked outside to offer him a drink. She saw Bruce merrily accept and raise the glass to his lips, yet when the waiter turned and walked away; Bruce turned to face Gotham and tossed the drink to the side. Diana peered at her own drink with interest, she doubted it was laced with anything, but she couldn't help wonder why Bruce would accept the drink in the first place if he was just going to toss it. _That's Gotham Men for you _she said with a smirk. She was just about to walk up to the door when a woman politely nudged by her, and stiffly walked out to the Balcony.

Diana gazed at the woman and realized that she was Harvey Dent's girlfriend, Rachel Dawes. Diana looked at her body language as she walked up to Bruce, and it looked like she was angry or frustrated. She tilted her head and wondered what Bruce did to garner a reaction out of his only childhood friend. Rachel gave an appreciative "no" to the waiter as he offered her a drink before exiting the balcony. The waiter opened the door and left it open as he walked back into the penthouse. Diana sat down at a nearby table to wait for Bruce to be left alone, and she realized that the door left opened provided her extraordinary sense of hearing the opportunity to pick up on their conversation. Diana turned pink as she realized that she was eavesdropping, but she was undoubtedly curious to see the Bruce Wayne that Rachel Dawes knew. Diana closed her eyes and blocked all the party music, the chatter, and focused on the two voices outside of the room.

"...Harvey may not know you well enough to understand when you're making fun of him, but I do" said a female voice, she realized as Rachel.  
"No, no no no." Bruce's voice answered, "Rachel I meant every word." She heard Bruce let out a sigh, "it's good to see you Rachel, it's been what? 5 months since you and I have gotten together for dinner?" Bruce asked coolly.

"I AM seeing someone Bruce" Rachel replied dryly. "And you're always so busy, and I have a job to do."

"You know that day you once told m-" Bruce responded earnestly.

"-Bruce..." Rachel breathed out, "Please, you can't b-"

"It's happening Rachel" Bruce said softly, "That part of my life is almost over, and you said we'd be together."

"Bruce don't make me your only hope for a normal life" Rachel replied delicately.

Bruce exhaled deeply, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're an amazing man Bruce...what you've done...you truly love this city" Rachel replied warmly, "But you don't love me Bruce...not the way you think you do."

Bruce laughed hoarsely, "And you would know?"

Rachel breathed through her nose, "I've known you my whole life."

"You can throw a great party Wayne, I'll give you that." said a third voice.  
Diana' s eyes shot open, she looked up and saw Harvey Dent with her back facing her. He was looking at Bruce and Rachel. Diana's gaze turned to Bruce and Rachel; they were very close to each other during the conversation, intimately close.

Harvey continued, "The press wants a picture of the D.A.'s with Superman" Harvey pointed to Rachel, "Mind If I borrow Rachel?"

Bruce smiled at Dent "By all means Harvey, this is your night" Bruce turned to Rachel and smiled as she walked away.

Diana caught the look on Bruce's face as watched them walk away, it was a focused, stoic look...the way his lips and jaw locked into place seemed very familiar for some reason.

She watched Bruce turn to Gotham and look out into the city. Diana figured this was her moment; she got up, smoothed any creases in her dress, and walked to the door. She passed Rachel and Harvey on her way in, Harvey smiled at her and bowed.

"Your Highness, it's a great pleasure to finally meet you, thank you for your support" Harvey said as he offered her his hand.

"Yes, thank you so much for your support to Harvey and all of Gotham's heroes" Rachel smiled as she too offered her hand.

Diana shook hands with both of them and smiled, "Please, you must call me Diana, 'Your Highness' is too much."

Harvey smiled and nodded his head, "Of course Diana, we merely want to remain respectful and honor a valued member to our world"

"I've only had a year to do it, but it looks like I've finally taught Harvey some manners" Rachel playfully teased.

Harvey looked at Rachel, concealing a grin, "It HAS been a long year, I honestly don't know how I've done it."

Rachel playfully smacked Harvey on the shoulder, "Quiet you." She turned to Diana, and gestured around the room "So how do you like the party?"

Diana looked around enthusiastically; "I'm having a wonderful time" she looked at the pair, and smiled "Although not as good as a time as the Dent's are having".

A blank look came upon Rachel's face as she coughed and fixed her dress, Harvey's eyes twinkled. Harvey looked at Rachel cheerily, "We're not married Diana." Harvey grinned at Rachel, "Not yet anyway".

Rachel turned pink, "Um yes...right" she breathed out.

Harvey laughed and kissed Rachel's hand, he then looked at Diana, "I'm sorry Diana, but we need to go finish the photo's with Mr. Superman over there" Harvey pointed across the room.  
"I don't want your League thinking I'm in anyway ungrateful for the work you've done, or for your support" he explained.

Diana shook her head, "No no no, Harvey, I'm sorry. I might have put you in an awkward spot there" she mused as she nodded to Rachel, "And I'll be taking pictures of with your D.A.'s myself later on as well".

Harvey nodded, "It's been a pleasure"

Rachel bowed her head to Diana as well, "Thank you again Diana"

Diana watched them walk away; she looked at Rachel turn her head and look over her shoulder. Diana followed her line of sight and her eyes arrived at the man leaning over the balcony outside of the party, Bruce Wayne. _ Interesting_ she thought, _I wonder what is going on between them. _

Diana turned to a waiter; she removed two glasses of Champagne, and walked out to the Balcony.

She walked upon Bruce's back; he was still gazing into the City. She saw his shoulders rise and fall, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Natasha, I'm sorry, I can't go on another yacht cruise." Bruce said without turning his back.

Diana raised her eyebrows at this and smirked, _Natasha, who in the world is Natasha_?

Diana cleared her throat, "Excuse me?"

Bruce whirled around quickly, surprise evident on his face. Diana saw his face go through Surprise, confusion, and then finally calm, charming smile...all in a matter of seconds.

"Oh" Bruce smiled, "I'm sorry Princess, the sound of your heels reminded me of someone else's"

Diana looked down at her feet, she was wearing short heels. She didn't like the towering design that most women preferred. "Some other woman is wearing short blocky heels?" Diana smirked.

Bruce grinned, "Not as beautiful as you do, but yes, a friend of mine is a ballerina and prefers the same type of footwear."

Diana looked at Bruce intrigued, he had a very good ear to differentiate between shoes, he called her beautiful right off the bat and he called her Princess. Not Your Highness. Your Majesty, Princess Diana" just _princess_...only a handful of people on Earth called her that.

"You spend a lot of time with woman in heels?" Diana asked, her eyebrows piqued curiously

Bruce's grin widened, "No, no, no, I spend a lot of time with women who refuse to wear anything else." Bruce nodded to her heels and then the drinks in her hands, "Obviously I should spend more time with the woman who knows how to enjoy herself."

Diana sipped her drink and offered the drink in her hand to him; Bruce looked at it quizzically, but accepted with a raised eyebrow.

Diana smirked again, "I thought it be a nice change of pace if Bruce Wayne was offered a drink."

Bruce laughed, "You thought right." Bruce raised the drink to clink hers, "What shall we drink to?"

Wind caught Diana's hair and it blurred in front of her, she tossed it back in a single graceful motion and smiled warmly at Bruce, "To the generosity of a man, who allows a small group of unique individuals, to freely enter his party and home."

Bruce beamed at her and shook his head, "No, we cannot drink to something so insignificant. It wasn't generosity; it was a privilege and an honor." Bruce raised his glass and looked out into the night, "How about we drink to the courage and valor of these unique individuals, who stoically venture into the night, knowing they might not return." Bruce then looked back at Diana, gazing into her eyes, "And especially to the indescribable beauty and grace of such individuals"

Diana blushed and took a mental step back, she heard all the stories of the charming Bruce Wayne and his womanizing ways, but it was entirely different thing to experience firsthand.

Diana quickly inclined her head in appreciation, "Mr. Wayne, you're quite the flatter, but believe me; I truly wish to offer thanks on behalf of our League, for your generosity."

Bruce closed his eyes and shook his head, "No no Princess, you cannot call me Mr. Wayne nor thank me for an act of so called 'generosity', I was simply doing the duty that behooves any man, should he be in the presence of such distinguished heroes." Bruce reached down and gently raised Diana's hand to his lips, "and a woman as beautiful and courageous as you, certainly holds the power to address anyone she wishes by their first name."

Diana closed her eyes and politely smiled at Bruce's actions, but inside she was in turmoil. _Is this the Bruce Wayne I've heard so much about? How can this man be the idiotic playboy in the papers; he's so charming, and polite, and smart, and handsome, and, and..._

Diana slightly shook her head, she reminded herself of Steve and that this was Bruce Wayne, of course he was charming, he's been womanizing for years.

"Mr. Way- Bruce," she corrected, "You embarrass me with your words, yet they are very kind, so I thank you"

Bruce lowered her hand and raised his drink, with a magnetic smile, "Well then" he clinked his drink to hers, "...to Embarrassment", and sipped his drink without taking his eyes of Diana.

Diana laughed warmly and grinned smugly at Bruce, "Check, Check, and Check"

Bruce lowered the drink from his lips and looked at her quizzically. Diana tapped Bruce's chest with a finger, "You Bruce, you truly are the Bruce Wayne I've heard so much about" she said marvelously.

Bruce grinned, "So you've looked into me?"

Diana lightly shrugged and pretended to blush, "I've only heard what they've said"

Bruce's grin widened and his eyes gleamed, "Really? And do 'they' say?"

Diana looked into Bruce's eyes, unfazed and responded with equal light-hearted candor, "That you're a billionaire with an equally gargantuan appetite, that you're a womanizer, that..." Diana threw her hair back again, and smiled, "...you are charming, and brilliant, and a seducer, and that you take pride in your particular set of" Diana sipped her drink and raised her eyebrow smugly, "skills."

Bruce nodded at every accusation she listed, his smile widening at each new remark, "You embarrass me Princess, do you truly believe any of that?"

Diana smiled wolfishly, and raised her drink, "We're drinking to embarrassment aren't we?"

Bruce let out a bark of laughter, and he turned his gaze from her, into the Gotham Nightlife, "You want to know something about me Princess?"

Diana looked at him curiously, "Why don't we start with 'Princess'"

Bruce snorted, and gave her an opaque glance, "I'm the Prince of Gotham, and perhaps I wanted to meet a Princess." Bruce inwardly scolded himself, _Or you idiot Bruce, you've been calling Diana 'Princess" as Batman for so long that you've slipped into a bad habit as Bruce Wayne_.

Diana bowed her head in acknowledgement, "Of Course _Prince_ Bruce"

Bruce nodded to the party inside, "You see all the women in there? The women that accompanied me from the helicopter, the supermodel wives, the actresses..." Bruce drawled off and looked at Diana expectantly.

Diana shrugged and nodded her head, "Yes I see them, what about them?"

Bruce looked into the party, his eyebrows set forward, eyes focused, and jaw locked...that familiar look again.

"I don't seduce, nor control Women, Diana" Bruce drawled slowly, his gaze focused on the festivities inside, "Women are people, and people lie to themselves to be happy".

Bruce turned to Diana with his piercing stare, his dark brown eyes turning into a void of black. "Do you know how to truly control someone?"

Diana stared back at Bruce, unsettled by the new and unexpected attitude in front of her. He called her by her first name, and looked so focused and sharp, and his jaw made her brain go haywire, _something _is familiar about it. Diana shook her head slowly and quietly replied, "No, I do not know"

Bruce's gaze never wavered, "You give them what they want...what they truly want." Bruce nodded his head in the direction of the party, "You give them what no one else can give them...and you give it to them unconditionally" Bruce turned his gaze to the party, and laid his back against the railing. "You see those three women talking?" Bruce asked as he pointed to three gorgeous women talking amongst the crowd.

Diana looked at Bruce and nodded, "They were the three women you came into the party with" Diana smiled, "If my memory serves".

Bruce continued to stare into the party; he nodded and sipped the champagne, "You're memory serves you well. Those three women are beautiful; elegant...men would kill for a night with them." Bruce turned to Diana, "Would you agree?"

Diana raised an eyebrow, but nodded, "yes...they are very beautiful women"

Bruce smiled, "So what are beautiful women doing with a man like me? I'm a billionaire...do they accompany me because of my money? My looks? My intellect?"

Diana shrugged, "It is not unusual for a man of power such as yourself to surround himself with beautiful women, Bruce"

Bruce shook his head and quietly stated, "They're with me because of what I represent to them...they're beautiful, they know it...but they want the world to know it, they want people to look at them and say 'wow...she's from another world'".

Bruce leaned his head to whisper in her ear, "You give them something that they cannot get from anyone else...and they will keep coming back to you, over...and over again."

Diana closed her eyes and shuddered as a shiver went down her spine, the inner turmoil in her mind was raging. She didnt know whether this was the same playboy billionaire, or if a man who simply had an unconventional view on the world around him, who wielded his power with such grace and allure that...

Diana exhaled a ragged breath, she opened her eyes and was surprised that Bruce wasn't pressed up against her, or staring into her eyes. She expected him to be up close and ready to kiss her after his intimate whisper, but he took a small step away from her, and looked out into the city. _I expected something different from Bruce, I'm disappointed I didn't se-_

Diana quickly shook her head and composed herself, she was NOT going down this road. Bruce Wayne is the infamous playboy, just because he's not acting like the flamboyant, obnoxious character in the papers, didn't mean that the cool, calm, handsome, and dashing man in front of her still wasn't playing his game...he obviously switched tactics. _He's just doing what he does best Diana, woo women into thinking the most special in the world _she affirmed herself.

Diana moved over to the railing and leaned over, her gaze pointed leisurely over the city nightlife, "I thought you said you didn't' control women Bruce?"

Bruce closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "Like I said...people lie to themselves to be happy"

Diana raised her eyebrows and sipped her champagne, "And you're one of those people?"

Bruce pointed to the party, "All the men in there think that their money will buy them happiness, but they know that those kinds of women will never be able to fulfill them...they'll tire of a women and move on to the next one. The women in there believe that the men with the money can give them fame and fortune, when they know that all the fame and fortune in the world will never be enough, they're insatiable." Bruce looked at the drink in his hands with careful tenderness, gulped down the rest of his drink, and turned it upside down so the last drops fell on the floor. He looked at Diana and pointed to his empty glass, "We're insatiable".

Bruce turned from her and gazed into the city, "And I lie to myself thinking that all the women that I pursue, pursue Bruce...not Bruce Wayne."

Diana did not know how to feel about this, half of her believed that Bruce was still trying his advances on her, yet the other half reasoned that Bruce wasn't trying to get into bed with her...he was telling her the truth, about him.

Diana walked over to him and she looked into his eyes, "There's a difference?"

Bruce turned his head and stared back into her, "Bruce Wayne is the Prince of Gotham City...the most eligible bachelor and the man every woman tries to impress...regardless of his character and his attitude."

Diana pressed ahead and whispered, "And Bruce?"

Bruce's eyes began to waver, and he looked away, "Bruce is a kid who lives in his Dad's shadow, who grew up in Gotham City. Nothing more, nothing less."

Diana placed her drink on the floor, quietly walked over, and touched his forearm, "I heard about your parents...I truly am sorry." she said softly.

Bruce tensed up, and let out a short breath, "Yeah...It's ok. It was a long time ago" he said quietly.

"They sounded like great people" she remarked

Bruce nodded quietly, and looked into the Gotham Skyline wistfully, "They're were...the apple falls far from the tree I guess".

"I'm sure your Father is proud of you" Diana reassured.

Bruce snorted, "You didn't know my father."

Diana nodded to her hand on his shoulder, "But I know his son...how he aches to help the world...how there is a golden heart behind all the drinking and dancing"

Bruce turned to her, "You don't know me".

Diana never hesitated, "No, but I don't think you're the man I thought you out to be...and I think there's more to Bruce than what I've seen and what I've heard".

Bruce placed his hand over her hand that was lying on his arm, "Maybe I'm still seducing you...maybe I've just switched tactics" he said quietly.

A tingling sensation went through Diana's hand when Bruce laid his on top, but she didn't object to it. She looked into his eyes, "Maybe you are...but I don't think you are"

Bruce stepped up to her and caressed her cheek, his face dangerously close to hers, "You don't know that...of what I could do..."

Diana breathed slowly, her hand was still on his arm, closing in on his chest by the small space between them. "I'll take my chances..." she breathed out.

Bruce closed the space between them and his hand remove a strand of hair from her face, "Diana..." he hoarsely whispered. Diana's legs began to weaken as she stared back into Bruce, "Bruce, wh-" she weakly began.

Diana's eye's smothered as Bruce leaned in and kissed her, she didn't react at first, stunned by the situation. But she gradually slid into the kiss, her body slowly dissolving into tune with his. Bruce's hands' wrapped around her waist as her hands pressed against his chest, both of them locked in a slow yet mesmerizing exchange.

A ringing beep emitted out of Bruce's jacket, breaking their embrace. Diana broke first at the sound, her breathing quick and ragged. She slowly stepped back from Bruce, taking stock of what happened. She looked down at the floor with closed eyes, breathing slowly and regaining her composure. She shook her head and looked at Bruce, his face regained it's focused demeanor and he quickly reached into his pocket. He withdrew a small cell-phone and his eyes hardened when he looked at it's screen. Bruce's eyes darted back to Diana's and he calmly put the phone away, his breathing perfectly controlled.

Diana looked up at him and shook her head, "I'm sorry Bruce, I have a boyfriend Bruce, I shouldn't have let it come to that."

"I'm sorry Diana. I have to go" Bruce bluntly stated as he walked toward the doors and looked back exasperated, "Alfred is being held ransomed by a group of drunks who are intent on driving home tonight" he explained.

Diana looked at Bruce incredulously, "Wait Bruce? What? Where are you going?" _He is not just suddenly going to walk up and leave after that?!_

Bruce looked at her and let out a heavy sigh, "Understand...I'm needed"

Diana stared at Bruce in shock..._that lying little weasel, __I FELL for his act, oh Diana, you are such an idio-_

"Diana" Bruce spoke up, his voice interrupting her mental rant, "Diana I really am sorry...I promise I'll come back"

Diana turned her head, "Don't bother Bruce, I guess I was wrong about you, you really are just a lying, grimy, litt-"

Bruce stopped her and raised her hand to his lips, "Diana...please...you're boyfriend...whoever he is...he's proven me right"

Diana stopped at this and looked at Bruce confused, "What on earth are you talking about? Hera, I swe-"

"We want what we can't have" Bruce stated simply, "And I could never have you ." Bruce kissed her hand gently and stared at her, "Bruce Wayne...billionaire, businessman, prince of Gotham...the man who has everything...but not someone like you."

Diana closed her eyes and blushed, "Bruce please, don't be ridiculous"

Bruce didn't respond and she opened her eyes, he was gone.

Diana rubbed her head, _oh Hera what have I done._

Diana walked back into the party, and was promplty assaulted by Shayera.

Shayera looked at her with wide eyes, "DID I REALLY JUST SEE THAT?"

Diana groaned, _Great, the one person on the League that won't let something like this go...knows._

Shayera's eyes gleamed, "OH MY...you were" Shayera looked around in quickly, she lowered her voice, "You were KISSING Bruce Wayne!" she hissed.

Diana raised her hands in exasperation, "It wasn't what it look liked" she replied lamely.

Shayera grinned, "Oh of course not...I mean, seeing Mr. Playboy kissing with Wonder Woman is obviously something that doesn't happen everyday!"

"What doesn't happen every day?" said three voices behind them.

Diana quickly whirled around as saw the puzzled expressions of John, Superman, Flash, and J'onn.

"Uh...well..." Diana began.

"This Champange!" Shayera exclaimed,

Diana turned an eyebrow to Shayera, who subetly nudged her.

"Oh yeah" Diana said with equal jubilation, "This Champagne is so awesome...it's not something we can expiereince every day"

Flash's eyes gleamed, "You betcha, today is a special day, I got TWO of the girls' numbers. I mean this place is GREAT!"

Superman snorted, "yeah I just got off photo duty with the press"

J'onn ate an oreo, "It is an enjoyable fundraiser"

John eyed J'onn's curiously, "That's your 30th oreo man I don't know where you...ah forget it"

Superman looked at Diana, "So how did thanking Mr. Wayne for a free party invite go?"

Shayera choked on her champagne, and looked at Diana incredulously, "Yes Diana" she sputtered, "you did a good job of conveying our **thanks**to Mr. Wayne right?"

Diana smiled weakly and began, "Oh yeah... it went well, he was very adam-"

A loud gunshot cut her off, the third time this night. She looked around the crowd for the source, and saw the shocked terror on the guest's face as an individual began to cut through the crowd. She raised her head to see the individual, but all she could see was a floating green head amongst the sea of guests...then dread began to fill her up as she could see chalk-white makeup and a purple suit through the crevices of the crowd. Her fears were realized as the crowd went quiet, and a light, sadistic voice filled up the room.

_"**Good evening ladies and gentleman...we are tonight's Entertainment! I only have one question...where is HARVEY DENT!?"**_

Superman's knuckle's popped behind her, "It's him...from the video" he state.  
Before they could respond, static filled all their ears, and they bent over in annoyance to remove the annoying device.

Before they could remove it, a loud, deep, and rugged voice filled their ear, "Stop what you're doing, do not engage him...the Gotham Police Comissioner is missing, along with the Head Justice of Gotham Judiciary...we could be walking into a trap."

Diana froze into place, and whispered, "Batman, where are you?"

Batman gravely replied, "Observing his victims...he's implanted bombs into their intestines".


	8. Batman vs The Joker

Bruce quickly subdued Harvey and briefly apologized to Rachel as he made toward the armory room he developed into the building. He was rapidly going over the events in his head.

_Ok Bruce, so you kissed Diana, nothing out of the ordinary for Bruce Wayne playboy billionaire. Yet, that wasn't my intention, she was supposed to shrug me off, or I was supposed to come off too strong...I should have kept up the annoying playboy façade, but I let my guard down...I wasn't acting, I got lost in our conversation...enough of that for now. Now the Joker has killed three security guards on the bottom floor, and wounded three more...I need to get to the three that he left to bleed out._

Bruce calmly walked to the armory and pressed a button on his jacket, "Alfred" he announced.

Static came through Bruce's ear, and a solemn British voice erupted from the static, "Master Wayne, there is an emergency sir, the Jok-"

"Already on it Alfred" Bruce interjected, "I need you to lock the Supplies closet near the staircase, I stashed Harvey Dent in there".

"On it Master Wayne" Alfred said, "Be careful"

Bruce began to remove his shirt as he accessed secret panel that opened the armory door, and slid into it.

Bruce immediately tapped into the GCPD frequency, waiting to hear any confirmation by the Police if they had been notified of the Police Officer's bodies downstairs. Gordon's voice filled the room.

"Ramirez, Zachary, and Michael, send the information to the Mayor, we need search parties dispatched to Loeb's and Surillo's house. We need to see if we can find any clues on their disappearance." Gordon coolly demanded.

Bruce's face turned grim as he heard this information, the Commissioner and the Head Justice are both missing, he rapidly finished suiting up, and was finishing up attaching the cape to his shoulders when Gordon's voice again emitted from the speakers.

"Now...have strong evidence that the Joker is behind this, he's made it known that his next target is Harvey Dent. We. Need. Him. Secure."

Bruce nodded to himself at this, Gordon knew he was listening in on the Police communications, he was speaking very clearly so that Batman would undoubtedly get the message.

Batman activated the Sonar generator on the phone, and found the Joker and his crew riding up the elevator to the penthouse. Batman gripped the phone tight, he had to get to the victims at the Building's entrance before they bled out, but the Joker was ascending quickly. Batman growled in frustration and ran to the panel that opened into the Gotham Night; he jumped through the panel in a dive, and narrowed his cape to gain velocity down to the bottom floor. He needed to save the officers; they didn't have much time left. _5 minutes _he reasoned as he fell, _I'll be back up in 5 minutes._

Batman shot through the glass windows of the lobby and spread his cape, landing fluidly onto the crime scene. He quickly moved to the officers that were gasping on the floor.

"Where are you wounded?" Batman growled.

The officer's face was caked in blood, and he looked at Batman with wide eyes, and began gurgling blood. Batman searched the officer's body, but did not find any gunshot wounds or stab wounds of any kind. The officer began to gasp heavily and began to push his leg onto the floor and he tried to push Batman away...he was trying to crawl away from Batman.

Batman looked at the man uncertainly, was it Crane's gas that was doing this? Or was the man simply terrified of the Batman.

"I'm not trying to hurt you Officer" Batman reassured.

The man shook his head, and through panic gasps and chokes, he managed to make out one word, "Stomach"

Batman tore the man's chest clothing with his gauntlets, and examined the man's belly. Batman saw his stomach stretched against its skin in an odd-square like figure, almost as if something was trying to protrude out of his body. Batman stared at his stomach in raw confusion, he reached down to touch the man's belly, and the man shrieked in desperation, "No...P-p-p-please...it hurts"

Batman looked at man's face and reached into his suit and removed an infra-red scanner; it allowed him to pick up heat signatures. He scanned the man's belly and hovered over the protruding area. Batman's jaw clenched as the scanner revealed no heat signatures coming from area. It wasn't a bump, or a contusion...it was something artificial placed in his stomach. Batman looked up to the man, he was barely lucid, but also he was in excruciating pain, Batman couldn't just let him die there. Yet, he couldn't cut the man open without proper medical tools...he'd bleed out, or Batman would sever something important. _I need to see what the Joker put in his stomach _Batman angrily thought. He looked to the other 2 officers who were alive and looked back to man in front of him.

"Same stomach situation?" Batman asked, pointing to the other officers. The man nodded quickly, and let out another gasp of pain. Batman looked to the dead officers and quickly ran over to one. He removed his shirt and found that he also contained the odd-shape square shape. Batman checked the officer's pulse again, dead. Batman looked at the man's hollow eyes and grimaced; he slid his gauntlets across the man's belly and cut a razor thin line across the man's belly. Batman focused his breathing as he slid a gloved hand into the man's insides, and searched for the object. Amidst the soft and slimy organs in the man's stomach cavity, he gripped a solid object.

Batman let out a snarl of disgust as he pulled his hand out, inadvertently pulling out bloody intestines and spilling blood out onto the floor. Batman cleared the thick bloody gunk off the object, and wiped the blood with his cape. Batman turned over the object in his hand, and dread hit him as he looked at the object. It was a small brick of C4 putty that was pressed around a small black box with a red button. Batman pulled the putty from the black box, and removed the blasting caps from back which connected the wires to the C4. Once the blasting caps are removed from C4, it is as dangerous as dough. Batman grabbed the officer's radio, and spoke clearly, "Officer's down, Officer's down. Wayne Penthouse, send medical aid immediately". He put the radio down, then Batman activated his communicator with the League, the Joker most likely has the detonators, and he cannot be provoked. "Stop what you're doing, do not engage him...the Gotham Police Commissioner is missing, along with the Head Justice of Gotham Judiciary...we could be walking into a trap."

Diana's voice came through the communicator, "Batman, where are you?"

Batman looked down at the bloody mess on the floor, and exhaled as he crushed the detonator in his hand, "Observing his victims...he's implanted bombs into their intestines".

**WAYNE PENTHOUSE**

The room was quiet as the Joker walked around leisurely, pointing a sawed-off shotgun at the guests.

"_So NO one knows...where Harvey Dent is?" _the Joker drawled. He grabbed a desert plate off the table, dumped the cake, and proceeded to lick the empty plate, all in a fluid motion.

The Joker smacked his lips loudly, acknowledging the deliciousness of the cake he "ate". He grabbed a glass of wine from a random guest, casually tossed the wine into the man's clothes, and then promptly mimicked drinking the beverage in an exaggerated chugging motion. The Joker looked at the empty glass in appreciation, "_Good year" _he said as he complemented a trembling waiter. The Joker then moved to the crowd and started to lick his blood red lips, he grabbed a bald man by the head and asked again, "_So... you do or do not...know where Harvey is?"_

The man stayed silent and stared at the floor...

The League stared at the clown's actions, unable to comprehend the madness behind everything taking place.

"He's insane" said J'onn's voice, in every members head.

The Flash nearly jumped and hollered before Diana grabbed his arm in a vice-grip. He opened his mouth again to yell in protest at her actions, but she squeezed harder and gave him a look. Flash mouthed out the words _"Ok OK!" _and pointed to his arm. Diana rolled her eyes and her voice filled his head, "Wally, J'onn is letting us communicate using his telepathy". Flash opened his mouth to state his confusion, but he quickly caught on to what she was saying, "Oh, I get it know" Flash thought, and everybody nodded at their head, the way you would when you congratulate a small child.

Flash narrowed his eyes, "Oh don't give me that." He turned to the scene in front of him, and gulped. "Well...is this a party or what?"

"J'onn, could you look into this guy's head?" Superman asked.

J'onn's calm voice spoke, "He's insane, the moment he walked in, I tried to access his mind...there are no consistent pathways or rules that his mind is made up of."

"Eh?" came Shayera's response.

J'onn explained, "Every sentient mind has certain boundaries, blocks, or rules that it goes by. Some call it the conscience; others call it instinct, and others the Will. By connecting to one of these pathways, I feed into their thoughts and principles, and then use those principles to predict an outcome, or the most probable influence on them. The stronger the mind; the stronger the rules and the will, and thus the harder it is for me to gain insight on their mind."

"Right..."Flashed remarked lamely.

J'onn sensed the confusion, "For example, you all trust me, and allow me to create this link between us. Batman does not trust anyone, thus he constantly sets up blocks on his mind to prevent intrusion...and if He did trust me, his sheer WILL prevents any entrance."

"And this Joker guy? He has a strong a mind as Batman?" John asked skeptically.

"No" J'onn stated, "The Joker...he has NO pathways...no boundaries...no principles. I cannot predict a future with him, because he does things so randomly and anything he does, it doesn't affect him. What I can conclude is that, he has no conscience because nothing sticks with him, he has Zero empathy. Looking into his mind would be analogous to picking up water with a fork...it would keep sliding off."

"Great" Superman muttered, "We have a complete psycho on our hands, and we can't even do anything touch him"

"No" Diana said flatly, "If this Joker starts to hurt people, I'm not going to stand around and do nothing."

"Batma-"Flash started.

"Batman said to use our judgment, and he isn't here. If he doesn't show up, I'm going in with or without the League" Diana replied defiantly.

Flash breathed in deeply, and nodded, "Ok, I guess you're right"

Shayera rubbed her hands miserably, "I left my mace at the Watchtower...so much for a fun night out"

John rubbed his ring absentmindedly, "So what now?"

"We wait" Superman stated solemnly, he turned to Diana "And if things get out of hand, and Batman is a no-show...we take action."

Diana nodded, and looked at the Joker who just released the bald man he was questioning, and muttered, _"Looks like Hair isn't the only things you're missing eh? Brains?" _

Flash looked to J'onn shocked, "Wait...he just finished question the guy, we must have been talking for at least 5 minutes..."

J'onn smiled, "The speed of thought, it is much faster than you can vocalize"

Flash was impressed, "Cool stuff man"

"Stop, he sees us" John stated gravely

The league turned its attention to the Joker, who had his eyes on the League.

The Joker smiled with his teeth, and licked his lips in a predatory motion, "WELL! If it isn't The League of Justice..."The Joker stopped and pondered this, then he shrugged and reached into his pocket and produced a knife..."Well, something like that anyway." He skipped over to them, all while chewing his tongue, "oh...how **nice** it is to see you all." The Joker looked at each of the League's face and scrunched his face in distaste, "Oh nonononono...Where is he?"

The League stayed quiet, and stoic.

The Joker pursed his lips and let out a snarl, "OH ok...playing that game are we?" The joker took out a radio and burped, then he lifted the radio to his lips and smiled, "Ok." He licked his lips, "Do it".

The Joker put the radio away and smiled with his eyes nearly rolled backed in his head, "If you move...any of you move...from where your standing...someone will die"

Diana's hand clenched and The Flash shifted his body weight. The Joker noticed and shrugged, "Go for it you red...uh..."Joker held up a hand to his mouth to mimic a concealed snicker, "Now I have nothing against kids..._but kids in tights_? Red tights?" The joker laughed with his teeth and pointed to the flash with his knife in hand, "Now I know that you're fast...might not help with ladies, but uh...I wouldn't move if I was you"

The Flash flexed his jaw and Superman put a calming hand on his shoulder.  
"He's aggravating you, don't let it get to you" Superman whispered. Flash nodded his head, he understood.

Diana looked at the Joker with focused eyes, "What do you wa-"Diana began before she was interrupted again –for the fifth time - by a loud boom noise, as the penthouse shook slightly.

The Joker looked around, mimicking panic, and then false dread hit his face, he turned to the League, "_Sorry...did I say someone will die_" The Joker looked at them sheepishly, "yeeeeah...I lied. I meant somebody IS going to die." The Joker breathed out a laugh and held up his hands in embarrassment, "Silly me, getting something like that confused".

**WAYNE PENTHOUSE - LOBBY**

Batman quickly withdrew his sonar phone and re-calibrated the sonar sensors in the walls to communicate and crash on the different frequencies, effectively slowing down any radio communication coming through, like the signals to activate the detonators. Batman ran to the other two dead bodies and began to the gruesome process again. Batman rushed to the final dead body and ripped it open, spilling more blood all over already blood-drenched suit.

Batman dissembled the bomb and turned to the dying officers, writhing on the floor. He couldn't hear any sirens. Batman looked at his bloodied gloves then withdrew a batarang, and walked over the officer.

Batman held the officer's head; "Officer..." Batman looked at his nametag, Officer Green. "Officer Green" Batman began, "You have a bomb in your stomach, it's live and I need to get it out as soon as possible, it could go off at any second...do you understand?" Officer Green's eyes went wide at the sound of this information, and nodded. Batman gravely nodded and raised his Batarang's sharp edge to Green's eyesight, "This is going hurt, I'll be as fast as I can"

Batman lowered the officer's head and ripped a piece of his cape off. He put the piece of cloth in the man's mouth as a gag. The officer began to hyperventilate as Batman lowered his gaze from his face, to his stomach. Batman drew in a steady breath and began to insert his blade into Green's stomach. Green let out a guttural gasp as the cold blade touched his skin, and let out muffled screams as the blade cut deeper into him. Batman was half-way through his incision when the object began to vibrate, along with the detonator from the previous body he ripped out. Batman stood up and looked to the detonator on the floor and back to the other officers who were still alive; they too were gripping their stomachs in shock.

Batman opened the detonator and saw that while the signal wasn't fully connected, it was breaking through the sonar barrier he put up. Batman let the detonator fall to the floor as he understood the situation; there was no time to get them out or to help them... He bent over to Green and removed the gag. "I'm sorry..." Batman breathed out. The Detonator began to vibrate quicker and Batman withdrew his grappling gun.

Officer Green sputtered out blood and raised his arms out to Batman, sobbing "Please...I have a little girl...please, help me." Batman looked down at the man begging and knelt next to his head, dropping the gruff and tough Batman voice and spoke as Bruce, "What's her name?"

Officer Green was shaking, he looked up at Batman and uttered in between panic gaps, "L-L-Lily"

Batman removed his bloody glove, and gripped the shaking man's hand with his own; he looked into the man's eyes. "She'll be ok...I promise...school, health, money...she'll be ok." The detonators increased their vibrations and Green gasped in pain, yet he looked up at Batman and slowly nodded.

Batman placed the man's hand on the floor, and placed the ripped piece of his cape over the man's eyes..."Let her take you now" he whispered.

Batman looked to the other officers who passed out from the increased pain from the vibrations. Batman ran out of the lobby and pointed his grappling gun to the top floor; _The Joker is mine _he furiously thought. He looked back at the officer's laying on the ground, and he saw Officer Green on his knees, holding his stomach with two hands...he was staring at the floor, muttering something. Batman looked at his face and read his lips; he was saying "Lily". Officer Green looked up at Batman, and Bruce would never forget his face...it was forever sketched into his mind as the bombs went off.

**WAYNE PENTHOUSE**

"What did you do you thug?!" an older gentleman cried out belligerently.

The Joker and The League turned in surprise to this, this old man was staring at the Joker angrily and unafraid.

"Sir, plea-" Shayera began.

"SHHHH!" The Joker waved a hand in her direction, "Shshshsshshutup!" He turned back to the old man, and walked over "You know sir...you remind me of my father...oh yeah" in a flash, The Joker raised a knife to the old man's face and smiled, "I really _**hated**_ my father..." The Joker slipped the knife into the old man's mouth, "_**Good thing I taught him how to smile...I'll show you"**_

Diana's knuckles popped and she tensed her shoulders, "That's enough" she breathed, she began to walk forward when a voice adjacent to the League spoke up, "OK STOP"

Diana turned to the voice and her eyebrows rose when she recognized it was Rachel. The Joker turned to Rachel and smile, he began to walk to her and he began to comb his hair with his hands. "Why hello beautiful!" He jumped with giddy, "You must be Harvey's squeeze...and you are beautiful" The Joker began to circle her, like a shark swimming around its prey. Rachel tried to remain defiant, but she unconsciously shifted her body away from the Joker's movement.

The Joker looked at her with mocked affection again, "Ohhh...what's the matter? You look nervous?" He smiled, "Is it the scars? Wanna know how I Got em? Yeah?" The Joker walked up to her, and held her face, Rachel squirmed away, but the Joker latched onto the back of her head. "Hey hey...**Look at me!"**

The Joker sighs, "You know...one time ...I had wife, beautiful, like _you" _He said as his eyes roamed her body, " But she said, I worried too much...who said I ought to _smile _ more...who gambles, and gets in deep with the gambling sharks..."

The Joker freezes and stares at her, "Very deep with the sharks...and one day, they come over, and they carve her face...and we no money for surgeries. She can't take it...she thinks she's freak".

The Joker produces a knife and raises it to his own mouth, "And You know what I **DO?" **The Joker laughs, "I'm the good husband...and I...I stick a razor in my mouth." He traces the knife across his scared cheeks. "And I do this to myself..." The Joker smiles scornfully, "And you know what...**SHE CAN'T STAND THE SIGHT OF ME" **The Joker shakes his head and pursues his lips "She leaves me...after what I did...I just wanted to see her smile again...I just wanted her to know that I didn't care about the scars."

The Joker turns his head and stares at Shayera, "You...wings...would you care about the scars?" The Joker asked bluntly

"I-uh...uh" Shayera stuttered, shocked at his story and his spontaneous question.

The Joker rolled his eyes, "Take that as a yes." He looked at Diana, "you..." He licked his lips as he racked his brain, "uh...wonder girl...would you care?"

Diana stared at him, she breathed deeply, "No" she said aloud, "I wouldn't care if they were on the man I loved...but I wouldn't care for you, scars or not"

The Joker stared at her with Wide eyes...and burst out laughing. "_HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHA!"_

Diana stared at him, unable to comprehend this monster in front of her. The Joker turned back to Rachel, pretending to wipe tears out of his eyes, "Oh...hohohoh...and I thought _MY _jokes were bad".

He composed himself to Rachel and smiled, "See that? Once I got these smiles, I always laugh...even when the Joke..." he glared at Diana "...isn't funny".

He raised a knife to Rachel's face, "See that, now I'm ALWAYS smiling!" Rachel quickly punched him in the lower gut, driving the air out of him. Diana seized this opportunity and ran toward the Joker, ready to strike him. A henchman of the Joker pulled a woman's hair and pointed a gun on her. Diana stopped mid strike and looked at the Henchman. The Joker pulled himself up and dusted his coat, "Enough with the Bad Jokes, wonder lady. My guys here are very nervous about you moving...and when they get nervous..._triggers are pulled_" The Joker snickered.

The Joker turned his attention to Rachel, knife in hand. "Now back to you...that was a good punch" He walked up to Rachel a raised a knife next to her lips.

Diana stared at the scene, "We can't just sit and do nothing!" she thought, using J'onn's telepathy.

Superman grimaced, "We can't move, you heard that explosion, he's got bombs, and he has a gun trained on that woman."

Diana looked at Flash, "Flash can you move quick enough to disarm the thug?"

Flash shook his head, "I can easily reach the goon and The Joker...but I don't know if there are any bombs left...a trigger man can set them off"

Diana stared back at the scene, The Joker was closing in. "...a little fight in you..."

Diana looked to Shayera and John, who sadly shook their head, "We can't do anything either...my ring won't do much good to protect the people from an explosion if the bomb is inside the building" John stated. Shayera grimaced, "My mace wouldn't do much good, even if it were here...and I can only evacuate so many people"

They all turned back to the scene, distraught that they held so much power...yet powerless to stop the scene in front of them.

"...I like that"

Diana braced herself to fly toward the Gunmen...she couldn't stand and do nothing.

Then a deep, baritone, and gruff voice erupted out of nowhere, "**THEN YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE ME"**

The Joker flew back as if hit by a car and slammed into the ground. A flying black and red figure began to jump from henchmen to henchmen. The cries of pain and the sounds of breaking bones filled the room. Something whipped past Diana's face and she heard a scream of pain behind her, she turned around and found the henchman with a gun pointed at the woman...except the gun had a gleaming piece of steel dug in its barrel. The henchmen frightfully pulled the trigger, but to no avail. Diana grabbed the henchman, twisted his arm, and threw him to the ground, writhing in pain. She examined the gun and removed the steel object; it was shaped in a Bat...Batman.

She whirled around and saw a bloodied Batman taking 5 henchmen on at once, fluidly blocking their own movements and strikes, and redirecting them into each other. Batman grabbed a henchman's strike and extended it so that the henchman's arm lay flat in Batman hands. Batman dodged another punch, and twisted the arm to block an oncoming kick, using the kicker's momentum to snap the arm at the elbow. Batman grabbed the leg of the kicker, and raised it with one hand, while Batman's elbow came crashing down the on the knee, drawing a scream of agony from the henchman.

Diana saw the Joker get up and she moved to help, but Superman quickly was at her side and stopped her. She gave him a look and he nodded to the scene, "He's handling it". Diana exhaled deeply, yet remained still.

Two henchmen came at Batman from the sides, both wielding knives. Batman threw his cape to his left, and quickly caught the strike of the assailant to his right. He grabbed the man's arm, twisted and pivoted it on one knee, snapped it with applied pressure, and threw the man to the left...right into the arms of the henchman who was distracted by the cape. Batman kicked the henchmen in the knee cap, causing the henchmen to jut his body forward from the hit. Batman used the forward momentum and slammed the man's head into the ground, followed by a shot to the neck.

Batman turned around to find the Joker but was promptly assaulted by another henchman, who looked like he was all but flying at him. Batman quickly dove to the right, but not before the Joker threw a kick to his abdomen. Batman groaned, it wasn't just a kick, there was a knife attached to the end of the Joker's shoe. Batman used his diving momentum to roll forward, and swept a leg behind him as he came out of the roll. He heard a loud impact as his kick swept the Joker off his feet. Batman moved to the left as the Henchman that flew at him, attacked; Batman removed two batarangs and held them in one hand as he threw a jab to disorient the assailant. Batman quickly took a batarang in both hands, rolled past the henchman and sliced his heels in a fluid motion. Immobilizing him. The man screamed as he fell and knocked himself out as his head hit the floor.

Batman turned to the Joker, only to find him holding Rachel hostage with a gun. He looked at the Joker and growled. "Drop the Gun"

Diana looked at Batman in horror, he managed to dispatch them all without even breaking a sweat...but that wasn't was scared her...Batman was drenched in Blood. His cape, his suit, his face...smeared in blood...he looked absolutely terrifying.

"Oh god..." Shayera's voice filled her head. "Is that blood?"

Flash gulped audibly, yet he spoke through his thoughts "Yeah...it looks like Blood"

"He didn't kill any of those thugs did he?" John asked solemnly

J'onn answered, "No, he didn't draw any blood except from the last thug, he sliced his heels...but that amount is nowhere enough to stain him as such."

Superman stared at Batman, shocked by what he was seeing, "You don't think he murdered anyone to..." He couldn't finish the sentence, but there was no other way to explain that much blood.

Diana shuddered, "I hope not...it's inhumane".

The Joker grinned demonically at him, "Well Well...looks like you've been having a little fun of your own huh?"

Batman stared at him, "Drop the gun" he repeated.

The Joker's eyes gleamed, "Oh yeah...how about you just take off that mask an show us all who you really are eh? AHAHAHHAHA!"

The Joker shot the glass behind him and held out Rachel precariously. "So did you like my present for the Commissioner and the Judge?"

Batman only stared back at him, his chest rising in rage.

The Joker narrowed his eyes and shrugged, "Well I guess you'll find out soon enough...I guess you had your hands..._full" _The Joker smiled wolfishly as he stared at Batman's bloodstained suit. "If you didn't find the Commissioner or the Judge...I'm guessing you found the little piggy's downstairs." The Joker began to cackle, and pointed to Rachel "**HAHAHAHHAH! **If only Dent were here to see this"

Batman stepped forward, "**LET HER GO"**

Joker smiled lopsided "hehe...hehehehehe...hehehehahahhah!"

Batman stared hard.

Joker raised his eyebrows and grinned..."Very poor choice of words"

He laughed as he let go of Rachel, and she began to fall 13 floors.

Batman didn't hesitate, he immediately lunged after her, disregarding the Joker, The League...focused only on getting Rachel.

The Joker scoffed at Batman's incredible jump, running a hand through his hair in a baffled manner. "Well he certainly was in a hurry"

The Joker turned to his crew and the League, "Oh yeah, I forgot about you" He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small detonator.

Superman stepped forward, "Stop Joker...you will not cause anyone further harm". The League shifted their weight behind Superman, and gave the Joker a menacing glare.

The Joker looked at them with an innocent glare, "Me? What did I do?"

Diana flexed her jaw, "Enough games clown. You will not move"

The Joker looked at her sheepishly, "oh...sorry...I kind of...uh...have a...date"

The Joker pushed the detonator, and a henchman blew up.

The League stared at Joker as blood splattered everywhere, on the walls, party guests, League Members...even on the Joker. The Joker spat out and removed his coat and threw it on the floor, revealing a complex piece of machinery stuck to his chest.

The Joker sputtered and removed a piece of flesh from his face. He looked at the League, "Now. All my guys here have similar...explosive personalities" The Joker laughed, "If any of you get too close to me, or if my finger leaves this button...OR! If any of you tries to disarm me...and my heart beat rises or falls too quickly" The Joker mimed a boom explosion with his hands. "So if you don't want to see what old Mike over here had for dinner...I suggest you don't follow me"

Shayera nudged Flash, "Can you get him?"

Flash nodded, "yeah, I can."

Diana shook her head, "Don't, even if you manage to get the button, all the Joker needs to do is break a sweat and more bodies will go off".

"I can maintain the blast wave with my Ring" John offered.

Superman shook his head, "That will still kill his henchman...and we can't kill them"

The Joker smiled and walked to the elevator...he smiled at the League, "Great Party huh?" He licked his lips and stepped into the elevator. Diana stared at the mess around them, _Oh Hera...what is happening?_

_1 hour Later._

__Siren's wailed in the distance, all the guest left, and the League saw Batman's grapple finally grip the ledge. Superman flew over and lent a hand, Diana didn't bother as she knew Batman would scoff at their assistance. But the League was surprised when Superman pulled up Rachel, who was surprisingly not spooked or terrified her breathing was labored, but controlled. Batman came up next, Diana couldn't tell if he was bleeding from the stab wound...because of all the blood he was drenched in.

Batman was breathing heavily, and was limping as he made his way to the League, "You need to go..." he held his stomach, "teleport back to Watchtower".

Diana stepped forward and steadied Batman, "Batman are you ok? That isn't your blood is it?"

Batman let out a grunt of pain and coughed up blood, "Fine...not my blood...someone else's"

Diana gripped his arm, "Ok that's it, you're coming with us to the Medical roo-"

She was cut off again, the sixth time, by the a loud moving crash, and the building shifting precariously. Superman looked down at the floor and squinted, "The explosion at the bottom floor has put a stress on the foundations...this building isn't safe anymore"

Batman looked to Superman, "Are you sure?"

Superman nodded, _"_Positive".

Batman turned to Diana an asked, "Rache...The girl...how is she?"

Diana raised an eyebrow..."Rachel. Is fine Batman" she carefully said.

Batman nodded, looked around the penthouse, and made a mental note to destroy all information by the contingency he put forth. He realized that he no longer had a base of operations...the watchtower was the only viable base now. He would retire there until he could find a suitable replacement. "Ok...medical station it is"

Batman stood up and walked to the window, "We'll teleport from Superman's house, that's the closest location"

Flash stepped to the side and asked aloud, "So Batman...just whose blood is that?"

The League all turned to Batman with raised eyebrows...they certainly did want to know why he was drenched in blood.

Batman stopped, and looked at his hand, and balled it into a fist. He remembered Officer Green's final look...he remembered Lily...and he remembered his promise...that no kid would have to lose their parents because of a monster...he failed...

He turned to them, "It doesn't matter whose...their blood is on my hand now".


	9. Guilty

**It has come to my attention all the great reviews that I've been receiving. I haven't really responded to any of them, and I don't want to come off as selfish or indifferent. I really enjoy and use the feedback. It helps keep me on the right direction. Thank you, especially to "ashanti01" and "TheWritingGirl23", "mbembet", and "THE GODDAMN DARK KNIGHT" for their helpful, and very encouraging reviews. **

"Are they serious?" Flash asked as he looked at the screen.

"I'm afraid so" Superman gravely replied.

"How could they just..." Diana began. She couldn't finish the sentence; she shook her head and threw her towel at a nearby chair. She had just come back from the training room when she saw the news report on the League's screen, _Gotham City News_: **CITIZENS OF GOTHAM DEMAND THE "BATMAN" TO SURREND HIMSELF**.

"What has he done wrong? Why on earth are they doing this?" Shayera cried out.

"Shayera" John said quietly, "You know why, after the attack at the Party, the 6 deaths in the lobby...the deaths of the Commissioner, and the Judge...not to mention the broad-daylight assassination attempt on the Mayor of Gotham, which resulted in the death of Lt. Gordon." John ran his hands over his face, "The Joker has been killing people left and right...people he shouldn't be able to kill so easily."

"So why aren't they going after The JOKER?!" Diana asked infuriatingly, her knuckles popping.

J'onn nodded his head, "It is as if they've forgotten all the good Batman has brought to Gotham".

"Then why!? The people of Gotham must KNOW that Batman is the only one who could stop him" Flash exclaimed as he grinded his teeth at the Screen.

"People are scared, they're panicking." Diana spat.

"The people are scared...they are panicking...but they are also dying" said a gruff voice from the entrance to the room.

Diana turned her head and saw Batman walking steadily toward them, his steps slow and steady. He walked to the center of the room and stood there...quiet and stoic.

He looked at Superman, and tossed him a small card. Superman caught the card and looked down at it...it was a white card with a black magnetic strip at the back. Superman looked up, and held the card up, "What is this?"

Batman walked to the computer a brought up a massive bank. "It's an access card" he said calmly, "That card will get you into a vault, number 1939, passcode: WDWFTHOMAS"

Batman brought up another screen, this time of an address in Gotham. "In this vault you will find 20 Metric Tons of Gold, which will come out to 1 billion dollars worth...it should fun the League's activites for another 10-20 years."

Both Shayera's and Flash's mouths dropped open...1_**BILLION**__ dollars?_

J'onn stayed quiet, while Lantern tensed his shoulders. Diana stared at Batman with dread..._could he be doing what I think he's doing?_

"You will use 50 million dollars of these funds to support the Gotham City orphanages", Batman pointed to the screen, "Another 1 million will be deposited into a bank account of a Ms. Lily Green, while another million will be given to her mother, and another million into a trust fund that will activate when Lily reaches 18."

Superman was shaking his head, as if in a trance, "Batman, you can't honestly believe this...the news?"

Batman stayed silent, and looked at Superman, "Batman serves Gotham...Batman is whatever Gotham needs him to be, and now they need me to come forth."

"Batman is whatever Gotham needs him to be, and right now they need him to catch the Joker" Diana angrily interjected, "Gotham needs Batman to be there...even when they hate him for it".

Batman turned to her, and breathed steadily, "People are dying Diana...what would you have me do?"

Diana walked up to him, and put her hands on his shoulders, "Endure...take it, even if they hate you for it. Turning yourself in won't stop The Joker, only you can do that" she emphasized the "you" by lightly squeezing his shoulders.

She looked into Batman's eyes, and for the first time, she wasn't afraid of what she saw. She could see him going through all the events, going through the pros and cons, his jaw flexing and his lips focusing...it all looked so familiar to her. He looked like he was going to admit she was right, she felt that her words had convinced him.

She felt his shoulders relax in her hands; she immediately was convinced of a win. But the way he held his head. He wasn't conceding to her...he hung his head in a defeated manner.

He breathed in a steady breath, and raised his arms to grasp hers, "I can't endure this" he said hoarsely. He stepped back from her, and he slowly let go of her arms as he retreated, "I've seen now, what I would have to become, to stop men like him". Batman turned and walked away.

Diana was unfazed, she lashed out to him, "What about your mission?! How 'Gotham's need for Batman was almost over?'!" she demanded vividly.

Batman stopped and turned to her, his cape dragging across the floor. She looked at him defiantly, "What happened to the man who went behind his friend's backs? He didn't care if he was persecuted, he was the OUTCAST, and he made his decision anyway...you said it yourself...you could make the tough choices. You didn't HAVE friends" Diana's voice lowered to any icy chill, "What about now?"

Batman stood there, the entire room weighing down on him. He wanted to scream at her, wanted to throw her across the room for what she was saying to him, yet he didn't have an answer. He pancaked cop cars, blew up city property, destroyed city landmarks...but this was different. People weren't just dying; their hopes were dying, right before their eyes. Pre-Batman Gotham you had Police Commissioners lying apathetic, corrupt police, terrified lawyers. The City didn't have any expectations; the rotting city didn't have any preconceptions of good. Post-Batman Gotham, the people finally had something good, something they could go to sleep with. Batman terrorized the city into hope, and with it, he brought back the city's legal system. The city now had something to lose...and they were losing it right before their eyes, in agonizing clarity. The days when Judges and Cops were killed were supposed to be over. Yet they were brought back to reality by the same extremities and theatricality that "saved" it in the first place, Batman to the Joker. Batman let out a small breath of laughter...he was being undone by the very thing he helped create. By giving the people back its city, he also gave them the fear of losing it again, and they would do anything to prevent from returning to those dark days...they'd even sacrifice the symbol that once helped them go to sleep, the symbol that jumped from the rooftops, smiting down those who sought to hurt. So be it.

Batman looked at Diana, she was beautiful. Her eyes were wide and open. She was angry at him, but not because of the deaths. She was angry because of what she saw. He abandoned her two years ago because he had to make a tough decision. A tough decision. He could have been with her, if he had just chosen the lighter path. But he didn't, and in her eyes...he was taking the lighter path now. Instead of taking the choice of the outcast, and enduring the Joker murders, he was going to turn himself in. She's angry at him because he didn't choose the lighter path years earlier.  
But she didn't realize that he was making the hard decision. The Hardest Decision. He realized now that it wasn't Bruce Wayne who had kissed her, it was just Bruce. The same Bruce who fell down that well, the same Bruce who watched his parents bodies crumple over and go cold. It was too late. Just like Rachel.

"Diana" Batman spoke quietly; "I am making the tough choice" He inhaled deeply, and exhaled with equal tranquility. "The blood on my suit the night of the party belonged to the six officers at the bottom floor. I had to cut the dead ones open and remove the explosives. Three of them were still alive, and I didn't have the time to remove them." Batman's gaze lowered to the floor, "An Officer named Green, he begged me to save his life...and I didn't." Batman looked at her and his shoulders fell, "I didn't save him...he begged me, saying he had a daughter. All I could do was promise him that I'd take care of her, that'd she'd be fine" Batman began to shake, and his nostrils flared, "I'm the one who is supposed to lose." Batman roared, "**I'M THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM DYING" ** Batman pointed a thumb at himself and screamed to the League, "**I'M THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO PAY THE PRICE" **Batman looked at all them with raw rage, his chest rising in falling in anger, looked around the room. He thought of Officer Green's dying sobs, and his promise, Bruce thought of his parents...Batman's breathing slowed, becoming ragged and distraught, his anger molded into despair. Bruce remembered that night when his parents were shot. Batman hung his head and stared at the floor, his eyes burned, "Not Lilly" he said, defeated.

Diana's eyes were watery, she didn't anticipate this from Batman...nobody did. He had shown emotion, he showed fragility, he was crushed by the weight of his own mission. She rushed forward to help Batman, but he held a hand up, stopping her. He spoke without looking up, "The Joker wants to kill me, he won't stop...and he's doing it the only way he can." He controlled his breathing and slowly gazed over them, "He can't kill Batman...not easily, not the symbol of Batman. He wants to unmake it."

Diana stared at him, and the conversation between her and Clark came flooding back to her, "But he can kill the man behind the mask." She stated quietly.

Batman closed his eyes, "People are dying...and he won't stop. He'll kill until he gets me, and I can't..."Batman stared at his gloves, almost expecting the blood from that night to seep back into the fibers "I can't have anymore Lily's on my hands." Batman shook his head, "I'm sorry...but I can't endure through this. No more people will die because of me"

Batman walked to the door and looked to the League, "I was right about Gotham's need for Batman...it is ending." Batman glanced over Flash, John, Clark, Shayera, J'onn, and Diana. He primed his lips...the closest thing any of them could recognize as a smile. Still, it was bitter "I just had something different in mind". He turned, his cape billowing slightly, almost as if it could sense that it was nearing retirement and it wanted to go out with one last epic image.

They all turned to one another, unsure of how to proceed. Batman's identity was going to b e revealed, but not the way they had hoped. This was callous, and brutal. Batman's wasn' opening his trust to them, he was sacrificing himself.

They had unconsciously shifted their attention on Superman, the leader. He looked at them heavily, and shrugged his shoulders, "It's his decision to make, and we will respect it."

Flash nodded his head at this, but he still found the tiny sliver of lightheartedness in the situation, "Well, who wants to make bets on who he really is?"

John snorted, "Give me 10 bucks on Alfred."

Everyone let out a small breath of laughter, they couldn't help it. The absurdity of everything happening wasn't computing...Batman was going to turn himself in, it didn't make sense.

Superman chuckled at the ground, "5 on Dent"

John scoffed at this, "Only 5 Clark?"

Superman shrugged innocently, "Reporters salary"

Flash grinned at Superman and turned to J'onn, expectantly. J'onn sighed and replied in his monotone voice, "15 on the particularly bold older gentleman from the party"

Shayera lightly tossed her mace between her hands and closed her eyes in mock-thought, "20 he turns out to be a woman".

Flash burst out into laughter, "Where does she hid the...you know" Flash cupped his hands and held them up to his chest, he asked awkwardly "You know...the uh"

"Breasts, Wally?" Diana amusedly offered.

Flash dropped his hands and grin, "Yeah, heh"

"What about you Diana?" Shayera asked very innocently, "Any particular male from Gotham City that you believe to be our Caped Crusader?"

Diana flushed at his as she remembered the party; Bruce Wayne's stunning image and incredible charm, their kiss, and then his unceremonious departure. Her eyes widen as she forgot what happened to Wayne, he left before the Joker's arrival. Diana closed her eyes and smiled, he probably was too busy wrestling with drunks when it happened. She looked to Shayera, her eyes were twinkling with glee. Diana mentally sighed, and she turned to the League and shrugged.

"1 Dollar that it's Bruce Wayne"

Flash rolled his eyes, "Only 1 dollar?!"

Diana shook her head and grinned, "Believe me; Bruce Wayne does have wild nights. But I don't think they're the kind that Batman has. So no. I'm not putting much money on it"

Superman turned his attention to a blinking white light from the computer. He walked over and handled the controls, he looked at the screen and his eyebrows went through the roof. He turned to the League with a puzzled expression. He raised a hand to the screen and said blankly, "The Mayor of Gotham City is contacting us; he wants us to secretly handle security at the Press Conference where Batman will turn himself in"

Everyone looked sharply at Superman. He nodded and looked at them with an exasperated smile, "They don't want to take any chances."

_**Wayne Manor**_

"Sir. You do realize that I will also be incarcerated. As your accomplice" Alfred smiled.

"Accomplice? I'm going to tell them the whole thing was your idea" Bruce snorted.

They were walking out of the Manor, getting into the Rolls-Royce that they had become accustom to. Alfred driving in the Front, Bruce In the back. Alfred looked at Bruce with a sad smile, "Master Wayne, Rachel stopped by. Did you see her?"

Bruce looked at him from the backseat, his eyes distant. "Yes Alfred. I did see her" Bruce closed his eyes, "I told her that I had to do this."

Alfred nodded and smiled, "And the lovely raven-haired Princess?"

Bruce looked up and chuckled as he looked at Alfred through the rear-view mirror. "Nothing gets past you does it Alfred?"

Alfred bowed his head, "Afraid not sir"

Alfred asked something that was nagging at his mind, "Sir...you said to me, after the destruction of the Penthouse, that you told the League that you needed the Watchtower because it was your only viable base of operation."

Bruce looked at him, "Yes."

Alfred shrugged, "Why? You had the Manor all along"

Bruce looked out the window, "I had to install something in there, I needed the Watchtower's resource for something." Bruce rubbed his fingers, "Doesn't matter now I guess. I won't need it anymore"

Bruce looked back out the window, and went over what lie ahead. He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling. "We'll be late to the conference."

Alfred looked at his charge through the mirror, and his hand ran over the wheel as he started the car. Alfred looked to the road and avoided looking back at Bruce. Bruce looked like his Father. This relationship was all too familiar to Alfred, as he once drove Thomas Wayne around, and they too would converse through the rear-view mirror. But now, Alfred refused to look into the mirror. Alfred didn't keep his promise to Thomas Wayne.

That he would protect and help his son. He would help him, just as he helped Thomas muster the courage to ask Martha out to dinner. Just like he helped care for a baby Bruce.

He failed.


	10. The Batpod

_**Gotham City – 7 p.m.**_

"Steve slow down! These heels are absurd" Diana muttered as she walked along side her boyfriend Steve Trevor.  
Steve raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Then why on Earth are you wearing them?"

Diana glared at him, "Steve you know what _secret security_ is don't you?"

Steve chuckled and nodded, "Yeah I know, it's just that I don't see how you're going to be doing much securing when you're wobbling all over the place"

Diana rolled her eyes, "It's just part of the disguise Steve" her gaze toughened, "That YOU organized"

Steve shrugged, "Everyone knows what you look like. You asked me to give you the best social camouflage and I did. You look good in a business outfit" Steve smiled wolfishly, "Or did you want an actual guerilla suit?"

Diana sighed and shook her head, "Hera, you're something else"

Steve bowed his head in acknowledgement. He then turned and surveyed the tall buildings surrounding them, "So your other friends are also hiding?"

Diana nodded while looking toward the press conference, "Yes, and stop rubber-necking. The public knows who you are"

Steve grimaced, "I still don't see why I couldn't wear a disguise"

Diana sighed, "Steve I know it's counter-productive. But you're part of the normal _security_ for the city. It's smokescreen to hide us".

Steve's attention turned to the horde of reporters and news teams, "So the Bat is actually going to turn himself in." He shook his head in disbelief, "From what you told me about the guy, I wouldn't have thought he'd be the kind to"

Diana's face turned hot as she remembered everything she told Steve about Batman...and all the things she DIDN'T tell him. She coughed and spoke quickly, "Yeah...it's very unusual"

Steve didn't pick up on her flush of emotions; he was looking over at crowd of civilians and cops who were holding signs that were emblazed with, **BATMAN IS A CRIMINAL. WE WANT THE BAT. OUTLAW VIGILANTE. **

"Crazy huh?" he remarked

She solemnly nodded her head, her mind flashing through the recent events. "Yes it is"

"Diana" spoke a voice in Diana's ear.

Diana brushed a hair over her ear, and a carefully activated the nearly invisible ear-piece attached to her earlobe.

"Shayera" Diana whispered.

Shayera's impressed voice rang clearly through the small device, "Wow, these things work great"

Diana smiled slightly, "They are Batman's designs, what you expect?"

Steve turned around confused, "What did y-?"

Diana held up a hand nodded to her ear, Steve's eyes flickered over to her ear and nodded. He then returned to scoping the rest of the scene.

Diana held up a camera and began taking pictures of the room around her, simultaneously talking to Shayera. "What's the situation?"

"Everything is in place. Superman is among the throng of reporters, Flash is hiding as a skateboarder, J'onn is in his human form, and John is perched in a window of a building."

Diana nodded her head and looked around surreptitiously, "And you?"

Shayera's voice gained a glee, "On top of an adjacent building, where I have a clear picture of your boy-toy Bruce Wayne talking to Rachel" Shayera breathed out, "oh my god, he kissed her."

Diana snapped her head around, searching for Bruce Wayne; she finally spotted Bruce looking at Rachel very gingerly, his eyes tortured and his lips primed. Her hand was held up to his cheek, and she sadly shook her head as she lowered her cheek and walked away. Bruce stared after her, his focus broken by the appearance of his Butler.

"He kissed her! And she's Dent's girl! And he kissed you!" Shayera all but screamed in her ear.

Diana nearly crushed the ear-piece in frustration, she rapidly mashed a button on her shirt that was wired to the receiver "Shayera will you please stop screaming in my ear?"

Shayera's remarks died and she turned a bit serious, "Yes sorry, don't touch all those buttons, you'll turn on something that I don't know how to turn off" She then cackled with glee "...but wow. I mean, first he kisses you, and you're with Steve! Then he kisses Rachel, when she's with Dent!" Shayera sighed in amazement, "I guess he really is the playboy we all know"

Diana turned pink at the mention of their kiss, she hadn't told Steve yet, fearing he might react in the idiotic ways that most Men do in the face of competition.

Diana looked at Bruce who was holding a phone in his hands, his face was confused as he gazed on the screen, then without warning he looked up and his eyes fell directly on her. Diana froze as she looked directly at Bruce, _does he see me?_ Diana thought worriedly. She saw Bruce's jaw clench and it looked like anger covered his face. Then in a split second, he cocked his head, and his eyes scrunched in thought, he then grinned and waved over to her. Diana felt a surge of dread run through her, _Oh Hera this will be good. _

She nudged to Steve and pointed in Bruce's direction, "The Famous Bruce Wayne would like to speak with us"

Steve turned to her, "You sure that it's a good idea"

Diana groaned, "I've met him before, and he noticed my disguise." She then raised an eyebrow at Steve, "Your _best_ disguise couldn't even fool the idiotic Bruce Wayne"

Steve laughed, "He's a billionaire...obviously he's doing something right"

They walked over and Diana tried her best to convey to Bruce through her eyes _THAT KISS NEVER HAPPENED. _She had prayed that the playboy would understand.

"Diana...wait, what are you d-"Shayera began

"Not now Shayera" Diana said through gritted teeth.

Bruce looked at her with his dark brown eyes and smiled at her. Even then, Diana felt like the smile was strained. Something was...off.

"Diana...you look" Bruce eye's roamed over her and he racked his brain for the right words, "...different".

Diana smiled warmly, "Hello Bruce. And yes, I'm supposed to be in disguise for the hearing" She said pointing to her heels and business clothes.

Bruce raised his head, "Oh that would explain it." His attention turned to Steve, who was smiling brilliantly at him. "Mr. Steve Trevor" he said as he shook Steve's hand, "On security as well? Or accompanying the beautiful Princess?"

Steve continued grinning, "Yes, I'm on security." He looked fondly at Diana, "As well as accompanying the beautiful lady"

Bruce nodded his head and looked back at Diana, a deep focus in his eyes. Diana felt hot with Bruce's gaze on her, and she was determined to keep the conversation from the party, "Interesting day huh Bruce?"

Bruce shifted his gaze to the podium at the center of the stage and nodded, "Yes." He said with a sigh, "It will be."

Diana looked at Bruce and then at Alfred who was in the background chatting with a dark-skinned man. "I see Alfred, but no super-models Bruce." Diana remarked

Bruce turned his attention behind him at Alfred, and then looked back at her with a faint smile, "My female acquaintances had better things to do today"

Steve piqued his head at this, "No girlfriend Bruce?"

Bruce shook his head, "No Steve...not yet"

Diana remembered Rachel and she found herself highly curious onto what just was going on between the two...it had nothing to do with the fact that Bruce kissed her then Rachel, Diana did not identify the small amount of curiosity as jealousy.

"And of Rachel?" she asked innocuously

Bruce's eyes snapped back on Diana's and he stared back at her hard, Diana almost flinched by his reaction. He then cooled his gaze and smiled, "She's a friend and she's dating Harvey Dent...that is all"

"Harvey Dent has arrived" Shayera announced in her ear. Diana turned around and saw a massive throng of the horde suddenly rush forward, and in the midst of all the chaos, Diana could see golden hair passing through the crowd.

Diana nodded to the crowd, "Harvey Dent is here"

Steve looked to the crowd and nodded, "Well Bruce, it's been a pleasure" he said as he offered his hand. Bruce shook it and nodded, "Good to see you to Captain". Steve grinned as the mention of his military rank, and walked to the crowd. Bruce then turned to Diana. He raised her hand to his mouth and he softly kissed her knuckles, "It's been a pleasure Diana". Diana almost blushed and she nodded her head, "It was good to see you Bruce"

Bruce looked at her and moved forward to hug her, his mouth next to her ear. He whispered, "I'm sorry Princess" He moved back from her and looked at her sadly. Diana sighed, "Its ok Bruce. It was a mistake"

Bruce nodded solemnly and Diana turned to go. He called to her, "I hope you can forgive me...I hope you can understand."

Diana turned around an looked at Bruce confused, "I already did Bruce...you don't need to apologize further". Bruce breathed out and smile, yet the sad focus of his eyes remained. Diana waved to him, "See you Bruce", and walked away.

Bruce stood there, staring after her. His mind was heavy. He looked at Harvey Dent who stood up at the podium. Bruce turned to Alfred who was chatting with Lucius; he gave him a grave nod, and walked forward to the conference. _To Gotham City's Bright Future _Bruce thought as he watched Harvey begin.

"Thank you very much for coming ladies and gentleman" Harvey began, "I've called this press conference for two reasons, one to assure the public that all that can be done over the Joker killings...is being done" he cleared his throat, "Second, because the Batman has offered to turn himself in. But let's ask ourselves...should we give in to this terrorist's demands? Should we aba-"

Someone in the crowd stood up and proclaimed loudly, "You'd rather protect the life of an outlaw vigilante? Than the lives of citizens!?" Her argument was met with loud conviction and support from the crowd.

Harvey Dent spoke defiantly, "The Batman is an Outlaw...no one disputes that. But we're not demanding him to turn himself in because of Justice...we're doing it because we're scared. We've been happy to let the Batman clean up the streets for half a decade, and we cann-"

Another member of the crowd jumped up, "Things are worse than ever! We cannot go back to the Gotham of 5 years ago!" The entire crowd seemed to resonate with this, as they all cried out in agreement.

Harvey looked at the crowd unfazed, "Yes they are...but believe me. The night is darkest just before the Dawn...and I assure...the dawn is coming." Harvey's voice rang with security and poetic reassurance, "One day the Batman will have to answer to all the laws he's broken...but he'll answer to US...not to this terrorist...not to this madman". A heavy silence impregnated the room, as members of the crowd now looked at each other in a new light...inspired by Harvey's words.

Diana turned to Steve, "You think he's done it? Stopped the hunt for Batman?" Steve looked at her with uncertainty, "I don't know...even Harvey Dent is having trouble controlling this crowd" He looked around, "But it looks like he might have done it"

Diana looked back to Dent, "He's good man...let us hope".

Harvey looked around carefully, his face complacent with the new aura of the crowd, he managed to change it. His eyes fell on those of a teary-eyed women...who was clutching a 5-year old girl with one hand, she looked up and spoke shakily, "My husband is dead...and my Lily has no father..." her eyes turned raw with despair..."no more dead cops!"

This seemed to ignite the crowd as if it were a keg of gunpowder; dozens of voice erupted demanding the surrender of Batman. Diana caught the eyes of Clark Kent, who sat down, defeated. She smiled weakly at him and he shook his head. Even when Batman tried to correct a failure...it still came back to haunt him.

Harvey Dent looked at the crowd, and then at his hands, he sighed heavily. He looked at the crowd and nodded, "So be it. Take the Batman into Custody"

The entire room went quiet as they all looked to one another, searching for the person being arrested. Diana looked around as well, and her eyes fell on the one person who wasn't rubber-necking, who lay absolutely still. It was Bruce, she saw him blink a few times, he moved his body forward and he opened his mouth heavily.

"I am the Batman" came Harvey Dent's curt announcement.

Diana's eyes tore back to Dent, who stood defiant in the center of the stage, looking at the crowd. He raised his fists to a nearby police officer, who promptly cuffed the D.A. She looked at the stage shocked and amazed. She heard a guttural noise next to her and found Clark looking at the stage incredulously.

"No Harvey!" said a defiant voice behind her, it was Rachel Dawes. She ran up to Harvey and yelled, "What are you DOING!?" Harvey smiled weakly at her and shrugged, "Sorry I didn't have time to go over this with you" Rachel thumped him, "Harvey you can't do this, you're putting your life at stake"

Diana closely followed Harvey and Rachel as he was ushered out of the building, he calmly stated, "This is the Joker's opportunity, when he strikes The Batman will take him down". Cops began to clap vividly in Dent's honor as Harvey was escorted to a security van; the whole room began to clap.

In the midst of the applause, Rachel pleaded to Harvey, "Please Harvey this is too dangerous, you don't even know if Batman could get the Joker he's failed before"

Harvey walked up to the van, and smiled "How do you know what the Batman's thinking huh?"

Rachel raised her hands and pleaded, "Look I just do, plea-" Harvey bent over and kissed her. When he broke the kiss Rachel sighed deeply, "Harvey please, tell everyone the truth".

Harvey tossed her a coin, "Heads I go through with it?"

Rachel caught the coin , "Harvey you can't leave your life to chance!"

Before the Door closed, Rachel caught a look at Harvey Dent's face...it was smug. "I'm not" he stated.

Rachel turned over the coin in her hand and smiled, "You make your own luck" Rachel shook her head and she widened her eyes in anger. She whipped her head and muttered something so soft that only Diana picked up on it, "Oh Bruce you..." Rachel gripped the coin and walked angrily away back to the conference. Diana raised an eyebrow at this and began to discreetly follow Rachel through the crowd. She saw Rachel find Bruce's car, but no Bruce. Rachel spotted Alfred, who was walking heavily toward her. Diana hid by a nearby phone booth, and listened.

"Alfred!?" Rachel cried out.

"Yes Rachel?" Alfred spoke heavily

"Where is he?" she demanded.

Alfred stayed silent. Rachel let out a short breath, "right". Alfred nodded his head. Rachel shook her head.

"Why is he letting Harvey do this?" She asked angrily.

"He came down to the Conference" Alfred replied gently

Rachel scoffed, "Yeah I know...and he just STOOD by"

Alfred inhaled deeply, "Perhaps Bruce and Mr. Dent believe that they should stand for something more important...than the whims of a terrorist...that's a sacrifice he's making...he's not being a hero, he's being something _more"_

"Yes...you are absolutely right. Letting Harvey take the fall is not HEROIC at all"

Rachel shook her head, and reached into her purse, she withdrew a small letter and gave it to Alfred, "You know him better than anyone...will you give this to him, when the time is right?"

Alfred looked at her, "How will I know?"

Rachel inhaled deeply, "It says that I..." she closed her eyes, "...I'm going to marry Harvey...and when I told him I'd wait for him to finish...I meant it but..." Rachel wiped a small tear from her cheek and stood straight, "but now I'm not sure that he'll ever be finished...I love him as a friend...but I can't wait for him"

Alfred closed his eyes and nodded, his normal cheery and unwavering voice cracked, "I...unde-...I understand." He hugged her deeply, "Goodbye Rachel". He bowed to her, stepped into the car, and drove off.

Rachel nodded looked at the car drive away, a female officer came over to Rachel, "Ms. Dawes, I'm Detective Ramirez; I'm here to drive you to Police Headquarters for questioning on Harvey Dent's actions"

Rachel sighed, "Ramirez, look, Harvey really isn'-"

Ramirez nodded gravely, "I know Rachel...but its procedure"

Rachel held up her hands in defeat and walked away with her.

Diana stood at the phone booth at a loss for words. She tried to absorb this information as best she could. She started rapidly going over the events in her head. Bruce and Rachel. Harvey and Batman. Rachel and Dent. Bruce and Harvey. Bruce and Batman. Rachel and Batman.

Diana rubbed her head; she was nearing on some type of conspiracy or agreement between Gotham's most powerful individuals. Is Harvey planning with the Batman? How does Bruce fit in to all this? How does Rachel understand what Batman is thinking? Does Rachel know who Batman is? Does Harvey? Does Bruce?

Before Diana could follow through on her line of thinking, she felt a sharp prod at her shoulder. She turned around and was greeted by Steve's grim face; he was wearing his combat armor. She looked at him expectantly.

Steve pointed to a van that was surrounded by military officers, "That Van has the real Harvey Dent in it, and we switched him behind closed doors. We thought you guys might want to know"

Diana nodded and passed this information to Shayera and the other members. Almost immediately, Diana saw J'onn's human form in her line of sight, as well as four figures appear at the rooftops. She nodded as she looked around.

"Diana" Steve began, "I'm going to accompany the Driver of Dent's vehicle, I nee-"

Diana snapped back at him, "Absolutely not, I will not allow you to be put in th-"

Steve held her face in his hands, "I'll be fine, and we have an absurd amount of reinforcements." He kissed her gently, "Plus I have you watching over"

Diana breathed in and nodded, "Ok...just please be careful"

Steve nodded at her and began to check his weapon, "You be careful as well"

Diana walked into an alley and tossed of her business outfit, underneath it she had on her traditionally Amazonian armor. She flew up to the rooftop and greeted the League.

"Crazy day?" she remarked.

John flashed his eyebrows, "yeah"

Diana looked at the van, "Well it's about to get crazier..." she told them about Dent's plan, leaving out the conversation between Rachel and Alfred.

Everyone looked at her wide eyed; Flash then immediately walked over to Superman and snatched 3 bills that were hanging out of his coat.

Flash shook his head with wide eyes, "You can say that again" he looked to the van that was beginning to move, "You aren't getting those 15 back Supe"

Superman snorted behind him, "I'll admit, I immediately thought of that bet when Dent announced it aloud"

Diana smiled, "Well, we know Harvey and Batman's plan...what should we do?"

Superman closed his eyes and thought it over, "We'll stay in the shadows...Batman didn't turn himself in, so that means he still wants to save the city his way...which is without our aid"

Diana shook her head, "No we cann-"

John interrupted her, "Diana...if what you told us is true, we cannot interfere...we'll only be proving the Mob right; that the GCPD and Batman can't take down somebody like the Joker...they won't respect them anymore"

Diana stared at him hard, John was unperturbed, "The mob hired the Joker...we can't let them get their money's worth, and prove them right."

"So we'll stand by and watch innocents die?" Diana asked angrily

Superman shook his head, "If Batman can't handle the situation...we'll be as discreet as possible, but yes, we'll interfere"

Flash grimaced, "Yeah...because we all know how great it was the last time we sat around doing nothing while the Joker ran around wild"

Superman shook his head, "It doesn't matter Flash...even though everything is going to hell...we have to trust Batman."

Diana sighed in defeat and looked out in the sky, Dusk was over. The night had fully set in. She flew into the air and began to follow the Van. She looked around in silence, "when do you think Batman will show?"

Superman flew up next to her, while the other members began to similarly begin their pursuit of the van. He stared out into the night "I don't know...but I hope he knows what he's doing"

Flash came rushing under them and waved frantically, they lowered down.

"Guys" Flash spoke grimly, "You might want to see this"

They rushed after Flash and almost ran into him as he stopped suddenly at an intersection. Diana looked at him annoyingly, "Flash what giv-"

"Diana" Superman breathed. "Oh my..." he didn't finish. Diana looked at the image in front of her; there were dozens of bodies laid out on the street, touching from head to toe. They were lined up in a sort of road-block fashion, they had all been gagged by tape and they all were crying out in pain.

Diana and Clark rushed forward to remove the bodies from the road, but a gruff and dark voice stopped them. "it's a trap"

They all snapped their heads around; Batman emerged from the shadows, holding a black trigger in his hands.

Diana stared at him, "trap?"

Batman nodded, "It's the same explosives that the Police officers had in them...the Joker has implanted these people as well"

Diana looked at the group horrified, "What do we do? We just can't let them die"

Batman raised his trigger and pushed it, almost immediately all the people on the street screamed in agony. Superman glared at Batman, "what are you doing to them?!"

Batman replied bluntly, "Saving their lives". The screams began to fade out, and Diana turned to Batman, "What did you do?"

Batman put the trigger away, "I deactivated the remote transceiver in the detonators, unfortunately it sends a shock wave through the victims' bodies...but the explosives will not go off by detonator anymore"

Batman looked down the street and spotted the caravan of police coming down. He turned to the Diana and Superman, "You mustn't move the bodies, doing so can juggle the explosives inside and cause even more internal damage."

Diana looked at the throng of people on the floor, "So we just leave them there to be run over?"

Batman began to walk away, "The police will proceed down onto the Lower highway. The Joker will strike down there."

Superman called after him, "Batman you can use a life; these cars will be driving incredibly fast...how will you stop him?"

Batman disappeared in the shadows, but his voice rang out, "I brought my car."

Diana raised an eyebrow and looked at Superman, he shrugged, "We'll see"

Diana flew out to meet the approaching Van and flew next to the door. Steve rolled the window down, "What happened?"

Diana nodded ahead, "There are bodies strewn on the road ahead, they have explosives in them and we can't move them"

Steve stayed silent, "They're live explosives?"

Diana shook her head, "Deactivated."

Steve nodded his head, "Ok." He raised a mike to his lips, "Obstruction head. Proceed down onto Lower fifth" Steve breathed out, "We'll be like pigs on a roast down there"

Diana flew up to Superman, he beckoned her to follow. "We'll enter through the side." Diana nodded and they flew under the streets by the water that sat beside the highway.

"Shayera, John, and Flash?" Diana asked as they entered Lower fifth.

"Assisting the teams that are removing the explosives from the bo-"

A loud metallic boom resonated through the enclosed street, as Diana and Superman turned to the sight of 3 semi-truck's pushing 6 SWAT vehicles into the ocean. Simultaneously, three police vehicles exploded into bright balls of fire as three missiles came into contact. One semi-truck emerged in the front of the trucks and held beside the Security van that held Dent...its cargo hold opened, revealing the Joker dressed in purple and 5 other henchmen.

Diana stood there breathless...in one single, vicious stroke the Joker decimated the GCPD's security hold. Diana turned to Superman enraged, "We can't just stay here"

Superman grimaced, "Just hold on"

Diana looked at him in disbelief. "Clark we just let these people die!"

As if on cue, a loud roar shot through the street like a lion's charge. Diana and Superman turned to see a large black vehicle, rugged and mountainous racing toward the scene.

Superman looked at the tank-like car with wide-eyes, "I got to get me one of those"

Diana couldn't help but marvel at the hulking beast of a car either, she followed it's trajectory and it was racing dead on the path of a huge semi-truck...they were going to collide.

Diana turned to Superman, "He's going to crash"

Superman followed her eyes and nodded. "Yes he is...but I don't think..."

Diana turned back to the huge vehicle and clenched her fists at the collision, but instead of colliding into a mesh of steel and fire...the black vehicle crushed the huge semi, and sent it flying back.

Superman snorted, "Yeah...just his style"

They quickly flew up and raced to keep pace with the vehicles, who were reaching speeds of triple digits in a relatively closed space. The Joker began to fire at Dent's vehicle with small weapons and shotguns. Diana grimaced at this and raised a hand to her ear, "Steve are you ok?"

Steve's voice came confidently through her ear, "Yeah, he's going to need something a lot bigger to get through our walls so don't wor..." Steve drawled off and breathed out, "Oh god"

Diana looked at the Joker and saw him holding a rocket launcher in his hands, he laughed gleefully and fired.  
Diana screamed out and shot for the Van, but she was too late. She heard a roaring sound and a loud explosion, but didn't see the explosion because of the bright flame that the launcher created.

She screamed out, "STEVE!" and held up her hand to cover her eyes. She flew faster but was pulled back by Superman.

"No Diana!" Superman cried out, holding onto her leg, "You'll be fried. I'll go, it won't hurt me"

Diana wanted to scream out at him, but could only look at the explosion. "Clark what have I done..."

Her eyes began to tear when she saw the Van and the Semi-truck shoot forward, undamaged by the explosion. She looked back to Clark with confusion and he stared at the scene with huge eyes. She turned and saw the massive black vehicle on fire; it was tumbling wildly through the air. It landed in a rough and manner, it's rear wheels blown to pieces. Diana quickly flew to the crash site. She descended upon the vehicle, and she saw the incredible damage to it. Its entire back section was missing. Diana looked at the car in horror and began to wildly tear the vehicle apart, screaming "BATMAN! Just HOLD ON!" She savagely used her strength to tear into the vehicle. Superman landed beside her and began to rip of the vehicles hood as well. Diana was shaking as she saw blood begin to drip from the vehicle. Her pace quickened and she nearly opened the car when a loud voice came through her ear. "Diana stop!" Batman commanded.

Diana stood frozen on top of the car and she raised a hand to her ear, "Batman?" she breathed out.

"I'm fine, just stop tearing up what's left of the Tumbler, I need it." Batman groaned.

Diana rose a shaky hand to her face, "Oh you idiotic, moron. You just had to-"

Superman touched her arm gently; she turned to him, "What Clark?"  
Superman looked at the tumbler uneasily as it started to shake, "I think we better move"

Diana looked at the tumbler's erratic shaking and hopped off, "Batman" she said unsurely, "What is going on?"

The left-front wheel of the tumbler began to speed up violently, and two gun cannons emerged on either side of it. The Tumbler's front chassis began to peel back and narrow itself. Diana looked at the car and announced, "Um Batman...is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine." Batman calmly stated. "Would you two mind stepping 20 feet away?"

Superman and Diana traded a look and stepped back. They looked at each other and Diana shrugged. She looked at the Tumbler and asked, "Ok Batman. Was something suppose-"

A loud mechanic whistle cranked out of the vehicle as a computerized women's voice stated very clearly and quietly, "Good-bye"

The front wheels of the Tumbler shot out of it and latched onto each other in a bike-like form. A dark caped figure shot out along with it, and sped off into the Gotham night. The Tumbler erupted into a small explosion and tiny pieces of it rained down. Diana looked at Batman's exit out of the car in wonder. Superman let out a whistle and jumped into the air. "_Just_ his style" and took off after Batman. Diana shook her head and quickly followed suit.

Batman roared through the streets of Gotham, destroying any obstructions ahead of him. Superman looked at his destruction with wide eyes, "Well. He certainly isn't one for the rules of the road". Diana looked at Batman ride with fascination. His cape billowed behind him in this epic way. It looked like he was gliding through the streets. She flew over the rooftops, keeping track of his progress. He finally dipped through an alley and turned on the wheel's axis. Effectively turning the bike in a 90 degree angle in a second. Diana breathed out, "Ok...now that's just really his style" Superman grinned and turned back to the scene,

The Bat-pod raced toward the Joker's semi-truck. Another head on collision.

Diana hesitated, "Clark...I don't doubt Batman, but I don't think he's going to come out on top with this one."

Superman looked at the two vehicles racing and began to descend, "I think you might be right." Batman's voice came through their earpieces, "I've got it"

Superman and Diana traded a look and held up their hands in defeat, they were going to let Batman do this on his own.

The Batpod raced down and fired two projectiles at the grill of the Semi. Diana held her breath as Batman extended the Batpod to lie flat on its wheels, and pass underneath it. She let out a sigh of relief as he emerged through the other side, and began to zigzag between light poles. She scrunched her eyes in confusion when all of a sudden the Semi stopped suddenly. A loud crack when through the Gotham night as light poles were uprooted and the Semi flipped on its front...and sailed through the air.

Diana swallowed as she saw the destruction in front of them; she turned to Superman who was also wide-eyed. Batman certainly was a match for the Joker.

Batman accelerated to the Semi, while the Joker emerged shakily out. The Joker began to shoot on-coming cars, paving a path for Batman that led straight to him. Diana could hear the Joker muttering insanely, "I want you to do it, come on do it. Come on"

The Joker stood still, his arms spread out in front of him; Batman was racing toward him on the Bat-pod. The Joker was screaming, "Come on HIT ME"

Diana tensed up, "You don't think..."

Superman was uneasy as well, "I don't know"

Batman descended on the last 100 meters, he was screaming. The Joker let out a blood-curling roar, "**HIT ME"**

Batman turned the Bat-pod at the last second, drifting it behind the Joker and smashing into the Semi. Batman's body fell back and lay still on the ground. A goon tried to unmask Batman but jolted back as soon as he touched the mask.

Diana shot to the scene, Clark grabbed her again, but she turned around with a murderous look "Clark if you don't let me go right now..."

Superman stared at her, "Diana we can't do-"

Diana screamed, "HE'LL DIE CLARK!"

Clark flinched at this and let her go; Diana grimaced and shot toward the scene. She looked at the Joker was sitting on top of Batman grinning with a knife. She was about to slam in the Joker when a dark figure in a shotgun stepped up behind the Joker and revealed himself. It was the officer that had died during the assault on the Mayor...Lt. James Gordon.

Diana veered off at the last minute, and crashed into a nearby fence. She dusted herself off and muttered darkly as she walked out to meet the scene of Batman being rescued by a police officer. Batman looked at the Joker and then at Gordon, they passed a tacit nod between them and Batman limped away. He looked at Diana, and then at his Bike. Diana nodded, "Quite a crash." Batman nodded, he was holding his right arm gingerly. He saw her noticing it and he muttered, "Out of its socket..." Batman raised his arm to the light and revealed the dark-red blood staining his gauntlets, "Gash in the suit"

Diana stepped forward, "do you want me to set it?"

Batman looked at her and grimaced as he tried to move his arm, he sighed and nodded, "Sure" he gasped.

Diana gingerly held his arm in her hands and nodded, "This is going to hurt Batman"

Batman nodded, "Yeah...do it."

Diana quickly applied pressure and she shifted the shoulder back into its socket. Batman let out a groan of pain and a pant of breath. He moved his arm slowly, it hurt and was still bleeding, but it was functional. Diana looked rubbed his blood between her fingers. "You need medical attention"

Batman walked to his bike and saddled it "Later" He looked back at her, "The JOKER?" he demanded

"Incarcerated" said a calm voice behind them. Diana almost jumped an looked back, but Batman kept manipulating the Pod's controls. Gordon looked at Batman's vehicle, "I like it"

Batman didn't look up, "Thanks for the assist...you're supposed to be dead"

Diana saw Gordon's lip slightly curve into a smile, "Best get out of here soon...reporters are coming." Gordon bowed to Diana, "Thank you for your aid Your Highness"

Diana smiled, "Please sir...it's Diana"  
Gordon corrected himself, "Diana."

Gordon walked back to Dent and Steve, conveying orders into a cellphone.

Diana looked at him an then at Harvey in the back, he was walking aside Steve, rubbing his wrists. Diana turned back, "Looks like he saved you...that's a first for the Batman."

Batman looked at Gordon, then to the broken fence, and then back at her, "I can see he beat you to it."

Diana turned pink at the inwardly bent fence, she turned and shrugged at him, "You would have done the same for me..." She followed this line of thought and remembered Batman taking that rocket launcher instead of the van. She rubbed her head, "Thank you...for Steve" she said nodding over to Steve and Gordon.

Batman turned to Steve and Gordon, he looked at her and...maybe it was Diana's imagination, but his voice turned less...gruff. "You don't have to thank me..." he quietly replied.

He returned his gaze to the batpod and started it's engine. Diana felt a surge of curiosity surge through her, "Batman...wait" She began.

Batman looked at her from his the batpod. Diana breathed, "Do you know who Rachel Dawes and Bruce Wayne are?"

Diana didn't get any reaction out of him whatsoever. He just stood silent and emotionless. He finally opened his mouth, "They're powerful people in Gotham...but I don't know them personally"

Diana wasn't convinced, "And this plan with Dent?"

Batman again remained quiet. "Improvised" he stated.

Diana shook her head,"Were you really going to come forth?...Or did you lie to me again for the 'good cause'" She tried to keep the heat out of her voice, but she couldn't.

Batman stared at her, he heard her anger. He looked away from her, feeling a very faint twinge of shame "I didn't lie to you." he replied hoarsely.

She stood there glaring at him, but she heard the pain in his voice. She walked up to him, "Am I ever going to get to know the real you?" She gently touched his arm, "The man behind the suit"

Batman froze. He turned to his head and looked at her hand on his arm. He looked at her, into her eyes, "He died a long time ago" He composed himself, lay on the Batpod, and rode away.  
Diana watched him leave with a sad look. Reporters had begun to arrive, evidenced by the while news cameras beginning to descend upon Dent. She looked at Steve who was laughing and smiling amongst the crowd. She looked back at Batman's elusive billowing cape. She knew who the true hero of the day was. Yet he didn't stay in the limelight. Steve, Harvey, and Gordon...they answered the question and were hailed as the heroes. She gazed at Batman's figure...he glided into the night. Either way, she was going over to Rachel and Bruce to ask them some questions.

_**Thanks for all the Reviews, they're very encouraging. I know I don't personally respond to that many of them, but I feel like you would rather have me writing the next chapter than a response. Do feel free to leave them though; they do help me out quite a bit. They're the reason why I'll write a chapter even if I don't feel like it.  
Thanks again. And yes, I know this story is a very dark, very tragic tale...but that's why it's Batman.**_


	11. Update

**I've updated a bit of Chapter 10, it's really the ending that I tweaked. I felt like I left some stuff out and I wanted to address it.**

**Sorry I know everyone's expecting a new chapter, I wanted to post it...but I felt that it wasn't ready yet. As you might have guessed, the interrogation scene is next. I really want to make it as stunning and important to the story as possible. If you follow the story carefully, you can see what the interrogation scene sets- up for Bruce Wayne. The next events that unfold are the reason why I even began this story. What I can say, is that the next chapter will show the madness and the brilliance of the Joker. As "TheWritingGirl23" said it, the fact that he can outsmart the League really puts it into perspective how brilliant he is...but his methods are what really terrify.**

I won't give away too much, but I will give you something to whet your appetites with. I don't usually title my Chapters, but I felt like now would be an appropriate time to give you a little something. The next installment will be called:

"The Dark Knight Falls"

**Make what you will out of that. Thanks! **


	12. The Dark Knight Falls

**I think this is my finest chapter. Enjoy. And if it's not too much trouble, a review would be nice. I'd like to see what you think of this...**

**The Dark Knight Falls**

Batman sped out on his Batpod, gliding through the streets of Gotham. Bruce went over the events as he shot through parking lots and streets. _Maybe the nightmare is finally over_ he thought. _The Joker has been caught. Dent's Prosecution has gone through. It will all be over. NO more Batman...no more endless nights that blend in with the Day. I can be with Rachel. I can be with Diana._

Batman nearly crashed the batpod into a wall at that thought. He swerved the pod into an alley and parked. He shot his grapple gun and rose on top of a roof. He shot the gun higher and higher, elevating himself to one of the highest points of the city. He stood on an inverted stalactite and looked over the city. "Diana" he said aloud. It sounded nice to him, that name always rolled off his tongue easily. He removed his gloves and rubbed his hands together. He breathed in the cool night air. In the distance he could hear cars honking, people hollering, baby's crying...his city was alive. Perhaps the Joker was his last test... a test to show Gotham that no matter what they faced...even something as evil and sinister as the Joker...they would prevail. Bruce smiled at this, the first time in a long time. Rachel was going to wait for him, she said so right before Harvey's press conference. She said "yes" when he asked her whether she meant her promise.

_And I didn't have to turn myself in_Bruce mused. Rachel's only problem was that if Bruce turned himself in...They couldn't be together.

He took off a gauntlet and touched the area where Diana placed her arm. "She was just happy I saved Steve" Bruce reasoned to the Gotham air, "She would have done the same in a reverse situation"

Still. He wondered what life would be life if he could go back and change it. It was wishful thinking, but it was one of the favorite places Bruce loved to visit...the other place being the Opera House, in his dreams, Bruce never got scared. He didn't want to leave.

Bruce thought about Dent's imminent reaction to Rachel and him. _He wouldn't take it easily that's for sure...but don't I deserve some happiness?_ Bruce clenched his fists in anger; _don't I deserve somebody to go home to!? After everything I've done...don't I deserve the most primal and basic need of a human being...Don't I deserve it?_

Bruce played this in his head over and over. Diana was with Steve...she looked happy. She deserved that..._right? I mean she's superhuman blessed with all the love and affection of the entire world, and I'm a kid who lost his parents and I protect this city without so much as a damn __**thank you**__!_

Bruce was breathing heavily, his arm was causing him discomfort, and his fingers turned bloody. The gash in his arm needed to be stitched. He was tired. He looked up with weary eyes and heard the wild music emitting from dance clubs. He saw a couple enter an opera. Everyone was happy.  
Bruce raised his hands to his cowl and slipped it off. His hair billowed slightly in the wind. He faced the cowl and gazed into its soulless eyes. He thought about what Diana said.

"The Man Behind the Mask" he said quietly. Maybe she was right...maybe Bruce Wayne did exist. Maybe he just needed to found.

_But who would find Bruce Wayne?_ He thought. Diana or Rachel?  
Rachel knew Bruce before everything...before Batman.  
Yet...Batman never deterred Diana...she cared for Batman even when Rachel didn't.

He started into the cowl's eyes. So w_ho am I? Batman? Or Bruce Wayne?_

"Depends on how you look at it Son" said a calm voice next to him.

Bruce whipped his head around in dread. A million questions going through his head...how did somebody find me? Why did they follow me 14 stories up? HOW did they follow me up?

Yet an even bigger question sprung to mind when Bruce laid eyes on the voice...it was his father, Thomas Wayne.

Thomas smiled at his son, "Surprised to see me?"

Bruce immediately started focusing his breathing and removing a vial from his belt.

Thomas shook his head, "it's not Crane's gas that's doing this to you Son"

Bruce hesitated and looked at his dad, "Then how are you here?"

Thomas shrugged, "You're the detective..."

Bruce stared at Thomas with wary eyes, "You're not real?"

Thomas laughed, a real warm belly laugh, Bruce flinched at the sound of it...he hadn't heard that laugh in years.

"Son" Thomas chuckled "What does your brain tell you?"

Bruce narrowed his eyes and looked back into the city, "That you're a hallucination brought on by the combination of blood loss and sleep deprivation"

Thomas snapped his fingers, "Spoken like the son of a doctor"

Bruce's gaze didn't waver, "Why are you here?"

Thomas raised his eyebrows, "You asked"

Bruce in turn raised his eyebrows, "Asked what?"

Thomas smiled, "'Who are you' ring any bells?"

Bruce turned back to his Dad, "And my Father the hallucination would know that?"

"You did get your sarcasm from your mother" Thomas mused, "But no...I don't know who you are...nor your Mom, Alfred, Rachel, Diana" Thomas pointed at Bruce"...no one but you".

"Then why are you here?" Bruce asked

Thomas piqued his head, "I wanted to see my Son"

Bruce looked at the city again, his voice huskier, "You're dead Dad...I watched you die decades ago"

Thomas bowed his head in acknowledgement, "Yes you did...but it doesn't mean I don't love you...that you're mother doesn't love you"

"You're not real" Bruce stated quietly.

Thomas shrugged; "Maybe...maybe not" Thomas moved closer to Bruce and pointed to Bruce's chest, "But this heart...our love for you...that is real"

Bruce looked back at his Dad and remembered the stethoscope that he would play with as a kid. His dad would tell him that the deep **thud...thud **in someone's chest was a heart. And although they couldn't see it...the heart was a very real thing.

Bruce's eyes began to lose their defiance, "Dad?" he said quietly

Thomas looked back at his son, and touched Bruce's face "I'm here Bruce"

Bruce felt his dad's hands on his face and gulped a shaky breath. He felt his dad's warmth spread through his face. He looked back into his Dad's eyes.

"Dad..." Bruce began shakily, his breathing ragged, "I can't...I can't do this anymore...I don't know what to do and I'm alone." Bruce hung his head, "I don't know what I am"

Thomas reached down and grasped Bruce's hand in his, "Bruce" he said quietly, "Look at me"

Bruce looked back in his eyes, looking as vulnerable and scared as he did when he fell down that well.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you...we couldn't be there for you" Thomas whispered, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

"No Dad I'm sor-"

"No Bruce" Thomas calmly stated, "No...it was never you fault. Never will be" Thomas raised a hand and stroked Bruce's face, "But you're not alone...never have been."

Thomas looked at his son with pride ringing throughout his voice, "Everything that you've been through Bruce...a lesser man would have given up years ago."Thomas smiled, "Even me"

Bruce let out a breath of laughter. Thomas laughed as well, "It's true...Bruce, I won't say that the life that's been thrust upon you has been easy...and it's not what I wanted for you." Thomas gripped his sons hand tightly, "But whatever you do...what you've done...I can't say there has every been a father more proud of his son"

Bruce nodded at this, his throat tight. Thomas let go of his son's hands and gazed into Bruce's eyes gently, "Bad things are going to happen Bruce...terrible things. And you're going to be the only one who can make the difference."

Bruce's voice was shaky, "I want the hurting to stop...they keep coming, there is so many of them, and there's only one of_ ME"_

Thomas put a hand on Bruce's shoulder, "I know...I would walk hundreds of miles and spend every dime so that you wouldn't have this life...but I can't." Thomas rose, "But I can tell you this son...this isn't the end for you. There is so much ahead for you"

Bruce looked up to his Dad, feeling decades younger and thousand times smaller.

Thomas nodded, "Love. Life. Despair. Hope...Death...and we'll be there...every step of the way"

Bruce nodded; he looked at his Dad smile. "You never answered my question."

Thomas grinned; he nodded to the mask in Bruce's hands, "That mask of yours...why a bat?"

Bruce looked back at the mask, examining the Mask's ridges and features, feeling the smooth graphite surface. "Bat's frighten me."

He heard his dad call back faintly, "Why?"

Bruce breathed in slowly and stood up, looking up to the Black Gotham Sky. He closed his eyes and shifted through the memories; the sadistic murder scenes, the screams of terror, the Deaths...the Well. He remembered falling for what seemed an eternity, then his arm crushing on impact. Bruce screamed in agony, pain bursting through his mind. The Pain was unbearable, but the eerie silence that surrounded him demanded his attention. He looked around, he was in a well surround by grey stone. Bruce's whimpers and labored breathing filled the room, but in between breathes, he could make out a faint whisper, a ringing whistle. Bruce looked at the source of the noise...an empty black void that the little light from the well's entrance couldn't pierce. The eerie whisper rose higher and higher, its pitch increasingly tightening the muscles on Bruce's back. Bruce leaned away instinctively, then the whisper exploded into a deafening screech as a large black monster erupted from the black void . The monster split itself, a million tiny black masses. fluttering and flapping. Bats. They descended upon Bruce.

Bruce screamed as he threw his head back in sheer terror, smashing his head on the stone's behind him. Bruce's haunted screams echoed throughout the well as his head exploded with pain and he slipped into blackness.

Bruce opened his eyes, his entire body was tight an rigid from the nauseating memory. He relaxed his tensed shoulders and turned back to his Dad...but Thomas Wayne was gone.

Bruce understood. He was thrown into the Darkness as a child, and it paralyzed him with fear. It haunted him for years, through his childhood, his parent's deaths, his world travels.

Bruce calmly stared back into the mask's soulless eyes, the mask was his atonement with that Fear, using it to terrify those who preyed on the weak. The Fear was a part of him, it had been ever since that day he fell.

Bruce Wayne, Batman, Fear. They all represented the same idea.

He slipped his cowl on, turning away from the spot where Thomas Wayne had stood.  
Maybe his dad didn't really appear to him...maybe it was just his mind reacting to his self-doubt the only way it could, with an inner reassurance brought on by a childhood figure.  
Or maybe it really was Thomas Wayne...either way, Bruce knew there was work to be done.

His radio was beeping, he flicked it on.

"Batman" breathed Diana, "Something's happened."

Batman looked back to the empty spot that his father had sat at, _Terrible things are going to happen._

"What's happened?" he demanded

"It's Dent...he never made it home"

Batman clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

He walked to the edge of the building. "Affirmative." He turned his radio off and jumped into the Gotham air.

**GCPD **

"He's coming" Diana said to the room.

"Good, that clown refuses to speak to anyone else" Gordon remarked.

"Lieute-Commisioner Gordon" Superman corrected, "Do you have any information on the Joker?"

"That is none of your busin-" Detective Ramirez began.

Gordon held up a hand, "It's fine Ramirez, they're in the O.K."

Ramirez sighed and held up her hands in defeat. Gordon signaled the League into the interrogation room. They stepped behind the one-way mirror and stared at the Joker fiddling and twitching in his seat.

Gordon turned to Superman, "No Superman, we have absolutely nothing on him. No name. No matches on prints, dental. His clothing is custom. Nothing in his pockets except knives and lint...no other identification. It's like he just appeared out of thin air."

The League stared at the Joker, who sat idly by himself in a chair, handcuffed to a desk.

"Do you want us to stand by?" Superman asked.

Gordon sipped some coffee and looked at him curiously, "You expecting him to try and break out?"

Diana glared at Gordon, "He's proven more than just a petty thug so far. He almost got Batman to turn himself in"

Superman held up a placating hand, he stepped between the two. "Look Commissioner, if you don't want us around, we'll go" He glanced at the Joker, "But you've got some fairly dangerous criminals in your possession now...I think a breakout attempt isn't something you should disregard."

Gordon nodded to himself and smiled when he saw the door to the interrogation room slightly move. He looked to Superman, "I don't think the Joker will escape...but if he does." Gordon glanced at the League, "Having you around will surely diminish his chances." Gordon put his coffee down and grabbed his keys. He signaled to a black button on the wall. "Push that button when I want the door unlocked."

Gordon walked to the interrogations room's door.

Diana called out, "Wait...what about Batman?"

Gordon smiled as the door opened, "Just watch"

Diana turned to Superman who shrugged. Flash looked at the Joker uneasily, "Man that guy is just..." Flash shuddered out of a lost for words.

John agreed, "He just manages to get under your skin...even when he doesn't talk or do anything."

"Shhh" Shayera exclaimed, "They're talking"

"Evveeening Commissioner..." The Joker drawled in the Dark room.

Commissioner Gordon sat down in front of him. "Harvey Dent never made it home"

"Of course not"

"What have you done with him?"

The Joker looked shocked, "_ME_?" he asked indignantly, "I was right here!?" He held up his handcuffs as evidence. "See? Who did you leave him with huh, _YOUR_ people? Assuming of course they are still _your _people...and not the Mob's"

The Joker licked his lips, "Does it depress you Commissioner? To know just how alone you really are...how at any moment, everything you're planning is being fed straight to Maroni and the Chechen...does it make you feel responsible for Harvey Dent's current..." The Joker rolled his eyes back, "_situation_?"

Gordon was unfazed, "What have you done with him?"

The Joker pursed his lips, "What time is it?"

"What difference does that make?"

The Joker widened his eyes, "Well Commish, depending on the **time** he can be in one spot...or _several_...hmmm?"

Gordon removed his keys, "If we're going to play games..." Gordon reached over and un-cuffed the Joker, "I'm going to need a cup of coffee"

The Joker laughed, "Aaahhh. The Good-Cop/Bad-Cop routine?"

Gordon stood by the door and nodded to the one way mirror. Superman nodded and John activated the lock. A loud buzz rang and Gordon opened the door. He turned to the Joker. "Not exactly."

Gordon walked back to the League behind the mirror.

"So now what?" Flash asked

Gordon walked over to the light switch, he looked at Flash, "Now we see what we can find out"

Gordon flicked on the switch, and turned his attention to the window.

The lights came on, and it revealed the dark figure standing behind the Joker. It was Batman. His upper left torso and arm was stained with blood. He grabbed the back of the Joker's head and slammed it into the table.

Diana turned, "How did he-?"

Superman shrugged, his eyes focused on the scene in front of them, "Didn't even sense him"

She turned back to the room.

The Joker looked at Batman, fascinated. "Argh." He groaned as he held his head. "Never start with the head. The victim gets all _fuzzy. _He can't feel the next-"

Batman slammed a vicious fist onto the Joker's fingers. The Joker stared at the punch and didn't even show the slightest amount of pain. The Joker raised his eyebrows at Batman, "See?"

"You wanted me...here I am" Batman growled.

"I wanted to see what you'd do" The Joker smugly stated, "And You didn't disappoint...you let a lot of people die. **Then** you let Dent take your place...even to a guy like me that's _**cold**_"

"Where's Dent?" Batman demanded.

The Joker laughed ridiculously. "Those mob fools want you gone so they can get back to the way things were" the Joker shook his head. "But there's no going back...you've changed things...**Forever**"

"Then why do you want to kill me?"

The Joker let out a blood-curling laugh, "HAHAHAH! I-I-I-" The Joker was almost sobbing with laughter, "I don't want to kill you" he laughed incredulously and stared at the gash in Batman's arm, " Although I can see why you might think that Hahahah! You should really learn how to drive I tell ya."

The Joker rubbed his stained make-up vigorously, "What would I do WITHOUT you? Go back to ripping of Mob dealers? Hahhahahaha. No nononononono." The Joker regained himself and pointed to Batman, almost begging, "No you...you _**complete ME**_"

Batman stared at the Joker, "You're garbage. Who kills for money"

The Joker viciously shook his head, "Don't talk like one of THEM you're **NOT!**" The Joker lowered his voice to a hollow whisper. "Even if you'd like to be.

The Joker pointed to the one-way mirror, "To THEM...you're just a **freak...like me**" The Joker pointed to Batman. "They need you right now...but when they don't...they'll cast you out."

The Joker leaned in and smiled, "I proved it to you. All you've done for this city...and they were ready to throw you to the lions" The Joker licked his lips. "Right? The CITY demanded that you turn yourself in...it's like you were nothing to them"

The Joker nodded to the mirror again, "And if you think that you could find shelter with your superhuman friends...we both know that they're not your friends"

The Joker grinned, "We're both FREAKS...we don't have anybody in this world. I am the only person who actually knows you" The Joker rolled his eyes back, "REALLY...I mean, do you think I was **BORN** this way?" The Joker faced the screen and looked at the League and officers undoubtedly behind the mirror "Do you think I was MADE THIS WAY?"

The Joker chuckled, "No-no-no...I was..._normal_...like you must have been" The Joker pointed at Batman, "You weren't born like this either...something happened...something that made you lose your mind. I mean...I SURE DID. HAHHAHAHAHAHHA!"

Diana turned to Superman. "Do you believe this? Batman surely doesn't think that-"

Superman turned heavy eyes to her. "I don't know Diana"

She looked back to the room. Electrified by the Joker's words.

The Joker pursued his lips, "I'm the only one here who truly knows you...those people over there...they're nothing to you...and you know. Deep down inside...you know it. They don't understand you...but I do."

Batman didn't say a word; he stood staring down the Joker. Quiet. Almost eerily calm.

"We're OUTCASTS Batman...we're human. That's why we're freaaaaakkkks. " The Joker licked his lips and twitched his eyes, "Those supers in there...the League...they're not human. They don't need to act human .But WE" The Joker pointed to himself and Batman, "WE...we are human...but we don't act like it. We're not supposed to do these things." The Joker leaned in close again to Batman, "but we do it _anyway_"

Diana clenched her fists, "Batman CAN'T believe what this madman is saying!"

Flash nodded, "Yeah...I mean yeah Batman is scary and all...but he's still one of us."

Diana turned to Gordon, "I have to go in there. If Batman for a second thinks that I don't think of him as-"

Superman placed a hand on her shoulders, "Diana, you can't give up on him that easily"

J'onn stared at the scene, "Agreed. It's ok...Batman isn't one to be broken easily"

Diana listened to this and exhaled angrily through her nose. _Calm down Diana. Don't give up so easily on him._

The Joker leaned back and smiled smugly, "I'll show you Bats. I really will. I've got the news reporters waiting to get a little bit of where Dent is go-"

Batman's calm demeanor erupted and he jumped forward, grapping the Joker by the scruff of his neck and pinning him to a wall.  
"WHERE'S DENT?" he demanded.

The Joker laughed, "Oh you have all these rules and you think they'll save you"

Superman knew that this kind of treatment was against the law, he turned to Gordon. "Do you want us to go in?"

Gordon knew all eyes were on him, he shook his head. "He's in control"

Diana turned back to the scene and whispered, "I'd hate to see out of control"

Batman was holding the Joker up viciously by the neck. The League was able to see Batman's face perfectly from this angle. He was raw with rage. "I have ONE rule."

The Joker chortle, "Oh well that's the rule you'll have to break to know the _truth_"

"WHICH IS?"

"That the only sensible way to live in this world is _without rules_. And tonight you're going to break your ONE rule"

Batman leaned in dangerously to the Joker, and snarled, "I'm Considering it"

Diana turned to Superman, alarmed at what she was hearing. Superman gulped, "He's in control" Diana wasn't wholly convinced. She didn't want to see Batman murder somebody right in front of them.

The Joker's smug smile widened "Well you're going to have to decide quickly if you want to save one of _them_"

Diana stood there dumbfounded. She turned to Gordon, "Them?" Gordon merely looked at her, as confused as she was. She turned back and heard the same uncertainty in Batman's voice.

"..._Them_?"

The Joker stretched his neck that was in Batman's vice grip, "You know for a while there...I thought you really were Dent." The Joker laughed, "The Way you threw yourself after HER at the party. HAHAHA!"

Diana saw Batman's face turned raw with red rage. He flipped the Joker and slammed his body on the table so hard that he dented a table leg.

"That's it" Gordon said behind her, he pushed the button and moved for the door. She looked at Batman who immediately grabbed a chair and moved to the door. He wedged the chair into the Door's handle, preventing it from opening. Batman shot a glare at the mirror, straight where the League was standing. He growled, "Don't move"

Diana flinched; she stood there paralyzed by Batman's anger. She turned to Superman who was breathing heavily, his eyes huge.

Flash spoke up, "We can't just let him kill the guy"

John leaned his face to the glass, "Who is 'her'?"

Diana breathe in deeply, she knew exactly who it was. "Rachel Dawes" she said quietly.

She shook as a loud shatter when through room; she looked up horrified by the image she saw. Batman was holding the Joker's head in one hand, violently smashing it into the mirror repeatedly. Batman smashed it so hard that he created a hole between the two rooms. He dropped the Joker and kicked him.

"**WHERE ARE THEY****!?" **he thunderously roared.

The Joker's bloodied face oozed in delight. "Does Harvey know about you and his bride-to-be?"

Batman delivered a brutal punch to the Joker's face, "**WHERE ARE THEY****?!"**

The Joker rebounded from the punch with deliriously giggles, "Having an affair with the easy Gotham attorney!?"

Batman grabbed the Joker, lifted him up, and smashed his back into the ground. "**WHERE ARE THEY****?!"**

At the sight of Batman picking the Joker up, Flash jumped into action. He thrust a hand into the hole that Batman created and began to tear it larger. He looked at the League pleadingly, "He is going to KILL him"

But everyone else stood there shocked, they thought they saw all the sides to Batman. But this was different. He was brutal. Sadistic. He was beating the Joker inhumanely. Diana stood there, her hands tight in fear. With each blow Batman delivered, her breath tightened. She never saw this side of him. He wasn't human.

The Joker laughed with a new nuance to his voice, as if he loved the punishment Batman was delivering. "OHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA HA!" The Joker's bloody face oozed into his mouth, he laughed while blood stained his teeth. "You have NOTHING. NOTHING to threaten me with. NOTHING to do, with all your STRENGTH.

Batman picked up the Joker and was about to smash his head into the window when the Joker grinned,"Don't WORRY! I'm going to tell you where they are. **And that's the POINT. **_You'll have to choose. _He's at 250 52nd street." The Joker licked his lips, remembering "And she's at avenue X. At Cicero"

Batman threw the Joker to the ground. The Joker called out, "Your friends won't do you much good. It will all be you still!"

Batman ignored this; he turned around and threw a small explosive at the one way mirror. It exploded and created a path for him to dive through. He emerged on the other side while Commissioner Gordon came to his side. The League rushed to him and followed Gordon.

"Which one are you going after?" Gordon asked as he ran to keep up with Batman.

Batman never hesitated, "RACHEL"

Gordon stopped running and stared at Batman. The League stopped behind him and noticed his hesitation. Gordon then nodded and quickly resumed running to the patrol cars. "We'll get Dent"

Diana rushed by Gordon who was commandeering officers. "Ramirez you're with me. Heisenberg, Charles, Zachary. Get into a patrol car each and its 250 52n't street."

Gordon turned to the League, "Which of you can get there the fastest?"

On Cue, Flash rushed forward and nodded solemnly, "I can sir'

"Do you know your way around the city?"

"I do. I can rise into the air and give him directions." John stated.

Gordon nodded, "Lantern you're with Flash, navigate him to the right direction."

Diana stepped forward, "I can fly very fast. I can hover above and follow Batman to his location"

Gordon grimaced, "I don't think he'll su-"

Diana narrowed her eyes and jumped into the air, "I'm not asking for his permission" and flew off.

Superman breathed deeply and turned to J'onn, "Keep track of them J'onn, Batman isn't exactly in a peaceful state of mind, and Flash doesn't know the city. They might be put at risk"

J'onn nodded, and took off without hesitation. His hands to his head.

Superman turned to Shayera "I need you to stay here while I go afte-"

Gordon shook his head, "No Superman. You're the strongest and toughest. I want you here making sure that maniac doesn't break loose"

Superman turned to Gordon, defiant and ready to argue. Shayera touched his arm, "Superman. He's right. You're much stronger than I am. The Joker won't stand any chance against you"

Superman exhaled and nodded, he turned to Gordon. "I'll stay, hurry and go."

Gordon nodded grimly and took off in his patrol. Superman nodded towards Gordon's car. "Make sure he doesn't kill himself. Gotham doesn't need another dead Commissioner."

Shayera primed her lips and nodded. She flapped her wings and took off into the air. Superman watched her fly away. He breathed deeply and turned back to the interrogation room. _This will be interesting._

Diana was gliding across the rooftops, struggling to keep sight of Batman's incredible maneuverability. It wasn't just that he knew his city. He knew every crack, crevice, corner, and alley. He decimated anything in his path. She watched with a mixture of horror and wonder as he destroyed cars, bridges, barriers...anything in his way was obliterated. She activated her radio beacon. "Batman..." she breathed.

Almost immediately Batman responded, rugged "What's happened!?"

Diana shook her head, she looked down from the sky, and "Nothing...It's just that I can get you to the location faster than you can on your...vehicle. Look I know you don't accept help but I real-"

"Affirmative, fly directly above me" Batman interjected.

Diana stopped in the middle of the air. He agreed with her. Without as much as a dark remark or statement. Diana shook her head and flew down to Batman. She hovered above his figure as he raced with the Batpod beneath him. He looked up at her and she nodded. Batman pushed a button on the Pod and a huge flame erupted out of the exhaust. Batman extended his cape and jumped out of the pod. The heat from the flame caught his cape and lifted him into the sky. He glided down as the Batpod self-detonated. He looked at Diana who was gawking at him, impressed.

Batman slowly descended in his glide, "Diana...as efficient as my suit is...I cannot fly"

Diana blinked and shook herself out of the trance. She reached down and picked Batman up by the shoulders. "Where to?" she asked.

If Batman was discomforted with being carried by Diana, he didn't show it. He nodded to his right, "That direction. GO!"

Diana nodded and sped off. She couldn't help but feel awkward at the situation. She was _carrying _Gotham's Dark Knight...and he didn't mind at all. Actually, he looked... in pain. Something was wrong. Batman was acting irrationally. Desperately, even. Why else would he so readily accept her aid? As humiliating as it was for his ego. _Just who is Rachel Dawes to Batman?_ she thought. She was so convinced he would have taken off after Dent, he was his successor, his ticket to life after Batman..._why Rachel?_

Batman's voice snapped her out of her train of thought, "Almost there"

Diana looked down; they were closing in on a degrading building. She looked at Batman; he was in fiddling with his belt. He removed two metallic items and snapped them together, they formed a gun of some sort. Batman with a gun?

Batman compressed the gun and fired three projectiles at the building ahead. He dissembled the gun and looked up to Diana. "Let me go on three"

Diana stared at him, "what on earth are you talkin-"

"One" Batman fixed his cowl and pressed a button on his belt. Two large explosions came from the building. "Two"

Diana stared at him in shock, "what are you doing?"

Batman expanded his cape and activated the electric current. "THREE!"

Diana released her grip on him and nosedived to follow his descent. Batman narrowed his cape and shot toward the building at an incredible speed. Diana stared at the building as they rapidly closed the distance. "Batman..." she shouted out "You're going to crash into that wall"

Batman shook his head, "You scout the top of the bottom floors. I'll get the Top. Work our way to the middle. We'll waste time if you have to drop me off."

Diana sputtered, "The WALL you mor-"

On cue, Batman activated the last projectile. A huge explosion erupted and Batman expanded his cape to capture the hot air once again. Batman used the sudden lift along with his momentum to shoot directly up into the air and onto the rooftop.

Diana veered off from hitting the wall at the last second; she was enamored by Batman's flawless execution. She hit the ground and rolled in. She looked around the bottom floor and didn't have a clue where to begin, the place was a mausoleum. Everywhere she turned there was more scaffolding and unfinished materials. Diana closed her eyes and listened for any movement. She heard the faint sound somebody's voice...a woman's voice begging and pleading..._Rachel._

Diana looked up to the ceiling and sighed, it was for the greater good. She grabbed the nearest pole, and smashed a crater-size hole into the ceiling above her. She flew up and listened again. The voice was getting louder. Diana raised her fists and flew into the ceiling above her, listening for Rachel's voice, repeating the process. Through the sounds of crushed concrete and steel, she could here another voice_...it was Harvey's. But why would he be here?_ She flew faster, the voice getting stronger and stronger. She began to make sense of the dialogue take place.

Harvey's voice was muffled, "They're coming for you Rachel!"

Rachel sobbed, "I know but I don't want them to"

Diana began to hear them without her superhearing. She was extremely close. She smashed through another ceiling when she heard two new voices; they were ...Wally and John?

She heard them as if through radio...or a muffle. She heard Harvey yelling, "No! NOT ME! WHY YOU COMING FOR ME!?"

"WALLY NO!" John screamed.

Diana froze. Harvey stopped screaming. She expected an explosion or a scream of pain. But she got nothing.

John's voice came out shaky, "You almost activated the trip-wire"

Wally breathed out a ragged breath, "Oh man. I didn't even see that."

"You wouldn't have. Only a trained soldier would have the eye for it. Trip wire is so thin it's damn near invisible. Look..." John drawled on. "Follow the wire...it's connected to the explosives on Dent's back...Man the Joker is clever. There's trip along the doors...good thing we came in from the windows. "

"Good thing YOU came in through the window...I can't fly. Mr. Dent your saf-" Flash remarked.

A beeping noise erupted out of nowhere, steadily getting faster. John screamed, "Wally we need to get him out NOW!"

"Wally the explosions are on a timer! They're going to go OFF! GET OUT!" John roared.

She heard doors kicked and metal grate against each other. It was a loud and desperate escape.

"RACHEL! NO RACHEL!" Harvey screamed.

Diana heard the dialogue coming from the ceilings above. She was extremely close. Her pace quickened out of fear. _If the time for Harvey was going to go off, Rachel's must be on a similar timer. _

Rachel breathed out, "Harvey it's ok! Listen to me! I do have an answer for you...and my answer is **YES...**

Diana shot through the last ceiling and landed with the rubble. She saw Rachel bound to a chair and explosives dressed all around her. She was crying.

"...I want to marry you" Rachel sobbed.

Diana flew up and hovered above Rachel. There was a radio of some kind, allowing for the communication she heard between Dent, Wally and John. She looked to the entrances to the room, she had to scrunch her eyes but she could see the trip-wire set up by the Joker. It was dangerously close to the hole she entered through. Diana let out a shaky breath. She came close to activating it herself. She looked around the room; there were no windows in this room. No other entrance besides the doors.

Rachel saw Diana and began exhaled gratefully, "Oh thank god you're here Diana"

Diana looked over Rachel; she was draped in explosives and wires. She didn't know here to begin.

"Rachel" Diana began steadily, "I'm going to get you out of her-"

The beeping noise erupted again, slow and steady. Diana's eyes went huge. Rachel saw that panic and began to hyperventilate "It's ok Diana. Go! You'll di-"

A loud screeching thud erupted behind them. Diana turned and saw Batman, shaking and trembling. He saw Rachel and Diana, and rushed forward. He stumbled as he ran to them.

Diana felt a shot of dread shoot through her. He ran straight to them without even noticing the stumble... Batman looked over Rachel, "Rachel..." he said hoarsely. He looked around in panic as the beeping suddenly reached a new nuance and began to beep incredibly quicker. Dread filled Diana as she saw the reason behind it, the trip-wire. She finally understood the Joker's taunt..."_your friends won't do you much good...it will all be you still"_

_The Joker knew we could fly; we wouldn't need doors to walk on...but Batman..._

Diana whirled around and saw Rachel come to the same conclusion, she heard the conversation between John and Wally...she knew about the trip-wire. But Batman didn't. Batman began to wildly dissemble the explosives, it was a futile effort...there wasn't enough time. Rachel looked up at Batman, her voice gentle. "Please...run!"

Batman looked up at her as the beeping noise reached its highest pitch. The explosives on Rachel began to glow. Diana spun around and grabbed Batman by the arm. She flew at the wall, bracing for the impact. Batman was savagely trying to break her grip, he was screaming, "RACHEEELLLL!"

Diana just shot through the wall as the explosions went off. She might have imagined it. It might have been the combination of the roaring explosion, Batman's screams, and the heightened adrenaline from the situation...but right before they shot out. She thought she could hear Rachel whisper, "goodbye Bruce". Diana couldn't think of it further. Blackness enveloped her as she smacked her head into the ground.

**1 hour later...**

Diana stared at the scene in front of her. The entire news teams from the city responded to the scene with agonizing speed. Diana was drenched in water and dirt. She helped drown out the flames with the GCFD. She looked down from the rooftop she was perched on. She didn't want to be questioned...and she couldn't stand to be down there. She saw Gordon arrive. Flash, John, Shayera and J'onn, all solemn on the scene. Wally and John looked like they were roasted alive, their suits charred. Diana tossed a pebble down and beckoned them up.

Wally looked at the smoking building, "Did you get her out?"

Diana shook her head, "No...No we didn't" She looked up at Wally and John, "You guys make it out ok?"

Wally hung his head, John shook his as well. "We got out...but Dent was hurt pretty bad..."

Wally rubbed the side of his face, "it burnt off...his left side of his face...burnt off by the explosion"

J'onn nodded, "He was gravely injured...but he'll live"

Shayera looked at the smoky building in front of them, "What happened?"

Diana shook her head, "It was the trip-wire...I didn't tell Batman soon enough...he opened the door and..." Diana couldn't finish the rest.

John hung his head, "I'm sorry, I should have radioed in or-"

J'onn shook his head again, "no...No it wouldn't have done much good John."

The group looked at him, J'onn stared at the scene. "I just finished talking with the Fire Marshall...The explosion from this building was much more damaging than the one Dent was in...And the explosives here were meant to go off...they weren't meant to be disabled. There were too many of them, Batman would never have enough time."

"Like that will console him" Shayera muttered.

J'onn nodded, "Yes...but still...the guilt is not on anyone here...it was set-up in this manner for a reason."

"Where is he?" Flash asked quietly

Diana nodded to the building, "He's in there"

Flash nodded gravely.

Diana sighed and walked away, she held up a hand when John tried to accompany her...she needed to be alone.

She went over the thoughts in her head.

_The Joker knew Batman would react this way...but how? He seemed to be in on it. He must have known Rachel is...__**was**__ somebody important to Batman, but that's because he thought Batman was Dent. But Dent isn't Batman...yet, Batman was still throwing himself to the wind to save Rachel. Why would he do-_

Diana's mind went back to the conversation between Bruce and Rachel kissing at the conference. She thought of Rachel and Alfred's conversation.

_Why is __**Bruce **_**letting**_** Harvey**__ do this?_ _He _**came **_down to the press conference. And _**he**_ just stood by._

She remembered the conversation between Bruce and Rachel at the party...

_It's happening Rachel, _**That part of my life**_ is almost over, and _**you said we'd be together**.

Diana remembered what he said to her at the Watchtower.

_I made a promise to _**someone**_...that on the day _**that Gotham would no longer need Batman.**

She thought of everything that she knew of Batman. She remembered J'onn's analysis of Batman. His wealth, his training, his mental status...Bruce Wayne was rich; he disappeared for 10 years...he lost his parents when he was 12.

Diana's eyed widened...she couldn't believe...she didn't want to Believe. Batman was Bruce Wayne? She shook her head, it was ridiculous, it wasn't POSSIBLE.

But she couldn't shake it out of her head. It all fit. The money, the training, the reason behind it all...Bruce Wayne called her _princess..._only Batman and Superman did that. Bruce disappeared right before the Joker arrived at the party. Bruce and Rachel...Diana froze as she realized why Bruce's jaw was so familiar...she had been STARING at it up in the Watchtower for as long as she could remember.

She whirled around to the League to ask them something, but she stopped at the look on their faces. They all were staring down at the building's entrance with sober looks.

Diana looked down herself. Every news reporter, cameraman, police officer, fire-fighter...everyone was quiet and staring at the entrance.

Batman was slowly walking out of the smoke and rubble. He was torn up. His cape was ripped. His suit was bloody from the gash on his arm. His armor was shattered and stained with ash. His cowl was chipped and broken.

Batman stumbled out. He was pathetically wobbling from wall to wall. He gasped for air as he leaning his body on a railing. He groaned in pain and his legs were trembling.

He was carrying something in his arms, an Arms Carry. A body. The body was lying on its back; Batman had his right arm under the knees, and his left arm supporting the back...the arms hanging uselessly to its side. The head was cradled into Batman's chest.

The police shined a light on Batman, the news reporters began to roll live from the scene.

The entire city turned on the news to see the Death of a Gotham District Attorney. Everyone saw Batman emerge from the smoke, Rachel's' charred body in his hands. He emerged slowly, staggering. He didn't face the crowd heroically or belligerently. His head was hung. He looked down at Rachel's body; he looked down at the floor...ashamed.

_Death..._ he repeated in his head numbingly. His Father said, _Death. _

He walked down the set of stairs, weak and tired. He looked up to the horde of people quietly staring at him. Batman tried to walk forward but fell to one knee. He couldn't take it anymore.

Batman knelt on the ground. Rachel's body in his hands. He was breathing heavily, his hands shaking. He stood up and walked forward again, but he collapsed to a knee the second time. He let out a roar of pain as the gash in his arm ripped open again, spilling blood over the ground.

Batman raised his head, his eyes dark and black. His mouth gasping for air. He looked up and saw the cameras, the officers...everyone was looking at Batman and the body in his hands. Quiet.

Batman gritted his teeth, and with a grunt of pain he stood again. The sound of his boots against the rubble echoed loudly through the night. His breath and his grunts of pain were audible to the world.

He staggered upright and walked forward to a medic. He passed the body over and breathed in a steady breath. Batman's arm fell to his side. He was running out of blood, and energy.  
He looked back out to the cameras and he stepped forward. Batman's energy failed him. His resolve failed him.

He swayed unsteadily, his cape dragging across the floor. Batman dropped to both knees. He bent over to support himself with his hands. It was an alien image. The Batman on his knees. He breathed in a ragged breath, looking down at the floor. He spat out blood. He looked around...his Dad wasn't here...he lied. He promised to be there every step of the way, he _promised._

He looked up to the spotlight on him. It was blaring. He got up one last time. His body wavering precariously. He stepped forward once again...but his leg gave way. He fell to his knees again, the world slowing down. The world weighing down. Rachel's death weighing down. His body leaned to the side slowly, his arms failing to support him. His torso hit the floor...then his head. His body lay on the rubble askew, mangled, torn, and beaten. He remembered Diana rushing to him, screaming reassurance...then...nothing...He blacked out.

In front of Gordon, the Police, the News, The League...the entire City.

The Dark Knight Had Fallen.


	13. Superman vs The Joker

_Sorry for my lengthy absence, but a couple of things came up. Thank you, my loyal readers and reviewers who welcomed my return with kind words instead of pitch-forks (sorry attempt at a Joke). Anyway, I'm sorry I took so long, I'll try to update more frequently. Thank you to GOD DAMN Dark Knight (very subtle name by the way), Truethough, WritingGirl and Tigress who consistently review my chapters, they fill me with confidence and happiness. Thank you for the reader who gave me excellent critique on POV. I'd go back and search up his/her name, but I'm too busy finishing the end to this story. (WHAT!?) Yes, there will be an ending. The one thing I really hate when I'm on Fanfiction is going through the archives and finding stories that capture my attention and then never deliver. It's infuriating, and it takes me a week to get over it._

_This chapter really came to me today, I wasn't going to write about Superman's experience with the Joker, but I just saw a recent movie that had a scene between the protagonist and antagonist that really inspired me to write this chapter, especially focusing on the Joker's new...well, let's just say he uses unconventional methods to distract Superman. (The First reader to point out which movie it is, I'll send them the next chapter a day before I post it. I'll give you a hint: "Martini")_

_Plus, I thought I owed you guys some back-to-back updates. Enjoy!_

**GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT - INTERROGATION ROOM. **

"So...Suuuuppperman...do the ladies agree with that, hmm?" The Joker drawled on.

Superman stood silent, firmly positioned at the door that led out of the room interrogation room. He looked straight ahead, his posture professional and business, ignoring the Joker who sat on the ground, his back to the wall.

The Joker pursued his lips and bobbed his head smugly.  
"Oh yeah, I knew it! I knew it I knew...I-knew-it. You're all muscle on top Sup'...but get down below..." The Joker threw back his head and grinned sheepishly.

"...get down below and we have ourselves Limpman eh?"

Superman gave no reaction.

The Joker grinned wolfishly. "**YOU **know what they say!? Hahahaha...heheheh...ha."  
The Joker's laugh died off and looked at Superman with dread concern in his eyes.

"You do know what THEY say...don't ya?" The Joker asked seriously

Superman sighed and closed his eyes, ignoring the clown next to him.

The Joker nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Ah yes. You do know what THEY say...They say, 'silence means consent.'"

The Joker leaned in and pointed accusingly to Superman with his forefinger.  
"And YOU big guy...just consented to Mr. Limp-limp...HAHAHAHA!"

The Joker laughed and held his ribs for an entire minute; tears began to form in his eyes.

"You just said! Hahahah- You sai-Hahahahahhaha! LIMP! BAHAHAHA!"

The Joker's laugh reached a new high-pitched crescendo that was ear-splitting. Superman reached up and instinctively covered his ears.

"HEY!" Superman growled annoyed.

The Joker stopped abruptly, right in the middle of his laugh. The room plunged immediately into an eerie silence, with the Joker's face plastered with the ghost of his laugh.

Superman shifted his body uncomfortably, the eerie laugh ringing in his ears.

The Joker's smile disappeared and stood up to look in the mirrored windows.

"Gosh! Is that how I look?" The Joker cried out

The Joker shook his head and then turned to Superman  
"Got to keep appearance you know...of course you would know that, because I know that's a sock in your pants. Heheheh!"

The Joker cackled to himself but stopped when he saw he was gaining no reaction from Superman. The Joker raised his hands in scorn.

"What's a GUY have to do to make ya Laugh?" the Joker exclaimed.

Superman remained impassive.

The Joker sneered at Superman then turned back to the mirror windows. The Joker's eyes widen as he saw his image. He whirled around to Superman and snapped his fingers.

"Aha! It's my face huh Sup? I haven't put on the make-up yet." The Joker giggled and pointed cheerily at Superman. "You _dog_, _you_...you should have just told me you wanted me to get fixed up"

The Joker laughed and turned around to the mirror, he lifted a finger to a gash in his head from the beating that Batman brutally delivered. He spat onto the finger and mixed the blood and saliva into a red gooey paste. The Joker leaned into the window and began to administer the paste onto his face—replacing the faded red make-up.

Superman took noted of this out of the corner of his eye and closed his eyes with disgust. Only an animal would resort to such disgusting acts.

The Joker looked at Superman through the reflection and raised his eyebrows provocatively.  
"Like what ya seeing eh?"

Superman closed his eyes and shook his head with ridicule. He shifted his attention around the room; there were pieces of glass from Batman's interrogation _techniques. _Superman leaned over and grabbed a nearby shard of glass. It wasn't terribly sharp, but it would easily pierce human flesh. Superman stood up and tensed his legs to jump at a moment's notice, in case the Joker went for a shattered piece of glass himself; not that he posed a threat to Superman, but the Joker seemed like the sort to prove a risk to himself.

"You know Superman," The Joker said nonchalantly as he applied his _make-up._"I really don't want you to get the wrong idea about me, I mean...I'm not the kind of guy who just decides to smear his own blood on his face"  
The Joker snorted, "I mean c'mon, that's just crazy. I use _other _people's blood...duh."

Superman didn't move from his position, but his mouth tightened in disgust as he pictured what the Joker was describing.

The Joker smiled knowingly, "I know I know, what can I say, I'm old-fashioned like that."

The Joker finished applying on his face, and turned around back to Superman. The Joker's Glasgow smile was ruby red. Superman stared at him.

The Joker smiled sheepishly and coy...he fluttered his eyelashes. "Hiiiiii..."

Superman glared at the Joker, but inside he was squirming with discomfort...he sure as hell wasn't expecting this.

The Joker began to saunter over to him, tossing his green hair around like a beauty queen.  
"I know you hear this lot...but I'm you're biggest fan. Forget brooding dark bat over here...we all know who is REALLY the main course." The Joker looked Superman up and down like a dessert tray; he licked his lip and walked forward a few more inches, picking up a shard of glass from the ground. "I can think of a few things we can do to pass the time, eh big guy?"

Superman's mask of contempt fell; he couldn't believe what the Joker was saying. The Joker smirked at this and ran his fingers through his hair again, pulling a few strands out and holding them tightly.  
"So what do you say? You like pulling hair? You want to be on top?"

The Joker closed the distance between the two and his eyes widened, "Ready to get down and dirty?"

Superman stared at the Joker with a mixture of shock and horror; "Get-Get back...Get away"

The Joker laughed and quickly lashed out with the glass shard, taking advantage of Superman's distracted attention. The Joker's eyes gleamed as the blade crashed down onto the Superhero.

Superman caught the Joker's wrist and stopped the shard of glass a few inches from his chest. Superman grinned, "Sorry _big guy_...you're not my type. You really need to focus your act; it's not as effective as you might think"

The Joker laughed, "hehehe, oh yeah? I can see that..." The Joker looked around with concern, "Hey...is it just me, or did somebody turn up the gravity in here"  
Superman looked at Joker baffled, "What are you talking abo-." Superman coughed and felt weary, he shook his head and tried to focus. "What did you do to me..." A loud clang went through the room. Superman looked down; it was the shard of glass. Superman looked back up the Joker's arm that he had in a vice grip, but when he looked down to his chest, the shard was no longer in The Joker's hand. The Joker's hand was cupped and in place of the glass were the green hair strands that he ripped out of his head.

Superman stared at the green hair strands and then back up to the Joker. The Joker grinned demonically, his teeth bared, his incisors glistening with rotted yellow stains.  
"Figured it out did ya?" The Joker shook his head disappointed, "Just not fast enough"

The Joker leveled his hand flat out and blew the strands into Superman's face.

Superman immediately released the Joker and threw his hands to his face, the green hair a bane to him. The Joker immediately pulled more hair and slammed it into Superman's eyes. Superman screamed in agony and fell to the floor, squirming and thrashing.

The Joker looked down at Superman and turned his head in moderate interest, "Wow...and they say **I **have issues"

The Joker crouched down next to the thrashing Superman, "Listen, Listen...hey" The Joker began tapping Superman repeatedly, "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey..."

Superman looked up at the Joker, black warts on his face. The Joker raised his eyebrows with surprise. "Hell...I thought I had the monopoly on image"

The Joker began to rummage around his pockets, looking around the room mildly, showing very little interest to the agonized hero next to him. He would pause as he searched through his pockets and then raised his eyebrows, and quickly shake his head with a dark mutter.

"Let's see...no that won't help...No that's not appropriate...I don't have coffee...that's only for Sundays..." The Joker grabbed something and completely froze; he turned down to Superman and smiled sheepishly, "You aren't a Eunuch are you?"

Superman looked up at the Joker through bruised eyes and puffed purple cheeks, semi-concious.

The Joker shrugged, "Thought so." He then turned his pockets inside out, revealing empty black cloth.

The Joker laughed, "See that!? I didn't have **anything in them**, I was just mess—Oh wow, you really aren't feeling yourself are you?"

The Joker stood up, plucked a couple more strands, and sprinkled them lightly onto Superman,

"For luck my friend."

The Joker began to walk away and then stopped himself, snapping his fingers.  
"Silly me. Leaving without saying good-bye"

The Joker walked up to Superman and smiled, his teeth bared and his eyes wide.

The Joker lifted his leg, he paused for a moment, looking down at Superman. "Good night."

And then brought the heel of his boot smashing down onto Superman's head, knocking him out.


	14. The Cowl

They were in the medical wing of the Watchtower

Diana walked up to Bruce's body, he was unconscious. His armor had been stripped and his cowl removed, there was medical gauze wrapped around the upper part of his face, leaving his mouth and chin unwrapped. She quietly looked at the machines that were monitoring his vitals, everything was steady; his chest heaving, his heart monitor beeping...everything was OK. Yet she didn't FEEL OK. She felt distraught, she felt angry, and she felt like grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and screaming at him. She hated him. Diana stared hard at Bruce. She could hardly believe that she knew who he was. Nobody else knew. Not even J'onn, who put the gauze on in the first place, he wore a blindfold when he was treating Batman, out of respect for his identity.

Diana placed a hand on his chest; whatever part of his chest that wasn't covered in medical gauzes was layered with scars, many different types. She ran her hands across the older ones, the scars that had years to become tender and light. She trailed her fingers over the more recent ones, the ones that were darker, and rougher. There were long and narrow scars, and then there were shorter deep gashes. She could see bruises, lumps, and knots on his body. She could see the passage of time on his body. She looked at her own skin and frowned; her immortality and healing prevented such scars from forming.

She spoke aloud quietly, "I hate you for doing this to me."

Bruce didn't answer. She shook her head, "I hate myself for not being fast enough. Strong enough. Smart enough"

Diana continued, "I hate that all those years, you ignored me. You left me. You abandoned me."

Bruce laid there, indifferent to her words.

Diana's voice became hoarse, "I had a good life, I had friends, I had family, I had a home here with the others, and I had Steve. Yet, I still wanted to see if you'd come back, I knew I shouldn't have...but I WANTED to see if you'd come back"

Diana let out a small tear and a sob, "And you did...you came back."

She smiled and leaned over to kiss Bruce's forehead, "You always do". Bruce didn't respond, he didn't wake up at her kiss like she had childishly hoped. He just lay there, breathing, sleeping, and recovering.

Diana sighed and ran her hand through his hair, "I won't tell anyone, no one will know what I know...Bruce". It felt odd to say his real name, she wondered for years what it would be like to finally know...and it was like rediscovering a forgotten memento, you were never really looking for it, yet you knew it was there.

She stepped away and walked to the exit, she turned around and gazed at Bruce one more time, she whispered under her breath. "No one knows...not even you"

Diana walked back to the Monitor Womb and slid in, Flash was the first to notice her.

"How is he doing?" Flash asked.

Diana shrugged, "I'm no doctor, ask J'onn"

J'onn turned back from the giant TV monitor, "Batman's injuries were quiet severe, his arm was infected, and the amount of blood loss could lead to serious brain damage and/or abdominal complications, urine infection, blindness-"

Shayera turned green, "-OK OK! We get it...he's in bad shape"

Clark looked from the screen and shook his head, "No Shayera...he's a couple miles past bad shape"

J'onn opened his mouth but closed it in consideration; he nodded his head to Superman, "A crude...but apt analogy"

Diana looked at the screen and grimaced, "Have things gotten worse?"

Superman nodded gravely, "It seems the Joker is parading the downfall of Batman relentlessly."

The screen showed the city in chaos, people were running in fear. Bomb squad's filled the streets, police were running rampant. It was the Joker's dream.

John stared at the screen, "Yeah, I can't imagine the grudge he's holding, you know, after Batman beat him to pieces in the interrogation room"  
Flash exhaled steadily, "I know, I mean, I thought he was going to kill him"

Superman closed his eyes and shook his head, "I-I-I didn't know what to do, I couldn't understand..."

Diana walked up to Superman, "Clark...nobody blames you. You had no idea that the Joker was carrying kryptonite."

Flash laughed, "Yeah I mean, I thought he just flaunted the green-hair for his crazy reasons, but he actually GRINDED kryptonite and sprinkled it in his hair. I mean how on earth did he thi-"

"Wally!" Shayera interrupted vividly,

Flash stopped mid-rant and looked back down at the floor sheepishly, "Sorry Sup"

Superman sighed, "It's ok Flash" Superman turned back to the screen and tightened his fists, "Damn bastard got the jump on me. He baited me and I fell for it."

Diana walked up the screen, "He doesn't look that smart...it's scary"

"So what will we do?" John asked.

Superman looked to J'onn, "Assuming Batman doesn't wake up...we'll have to interfere."

Flash turned to Superman, "You think he'd like that?"

Diana shook her head, "He wouldn't like his city turned to hell just because of his pride...we'll help Gotham, no matter the cost."

"I do need your help" said a pained voice behind them.

Everyone whirled around; they saw Batman, dressed in uniform, leaning on the doorway, holding his arm. He looked...vulnerable.

_Bruce._ Diana's eyes widened, she ran up to him just as Bruce's legs fell underneath him. She put her arm around his abdomen as a fulcrum to keep him up. It sounded very technical, but it also came off as a bit intimate. Diana noticed it right away, she saw Shayera grin manically behind the rest of the League. Diana bit her lip and tightened her grip on Batman, the hell with image, he was hurting.

Batman noticed the grip and stayed quiet; he looked at Diana and then let out a groan of appreciation.

Diana thumped Batman on the head, "You idiot, what are you doing standing up?!"

Batman grimaced and began to shift his full weight on his legs, "Need to be on my feet, I need to b-"

"What you NEED is to get some more re-" Diana snapped.

"I've told you before that I ca-"

"The hell with what you have told me be-"

Diana stopped mid-rant and her eyes widened as Batman's attempt to shift his weight on himself failed and he began to stumble. Diana quickly stepped forward and applied pressure toward her to balance Batman's weight. Batman let out a snarl of pain, and his breathing quickened as he instinctively leaned heavily on her. After a few moments, Batman's breathing settled and the room turned quiet. Diana looked at him and spoke gently, "Batman, is everything ok?"

Batman turned to her and paused, he stared at her without blinking, without moving a muscle. Finally, he sighed and relaxed his body into her grip.

"Yes" he said quietly.

Diana stood still until she became aware of the other League members staring at the two. She turned to them and turned a light shade of pink as she realized how close she was holding Bruce, and how fast she reacted to him. Clark had a slight grin on his face, John was pretending to fiddle with his ring, while Shayera wasn't even trying to hide her reaction; she had a stupid grin plastered on her face that could be seen from Space.

"I, uh." Diana said lamely.

The League let out small chuckles, Diana joined in as she fully realized the situation. Batman and her were arguing as if they had been arguing for years_, almost like if they we were married_.

Diana's laughter died abruptly at that, her eyes widened as she realized what had so effortlessly crossed her mind. Marriage. She had thought about a relationship with Batman, and a very serious one at that. She turned her attention back to him; could she imagine a life with a man as elusive as Bruce Wayne...as Batman? She studied him as he focused on his breathing. She could see him struggling to maintain the pain, to rebuild the thresholds that were shatter when Rachel died. She was so close to him that his rarely exposed emotions were palpable...she could FEEL his inner turmoil and inne-

"Diana?" Batman asked quietly.

Diana came out of her trance and looked back up at Batman. He was looking at her curiously; his hand was on her arm, gently pushing it away.

Diana looked at it with confusion. "I thought you asked me for my help?"

Batman nodded and then stood up on his own weight, without a single groan of discomfort escaping him._ Damn, how can he take so much abuse? _

Diana let go of him, she began to step back, but he put his arm on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked at his arm curiously and then back at him, expectantly.

Batman squeezed her arm gently. Then he did something completely out of character.

"Thank you Diana...you saved my life"

Diana's jaw dropped at that, as did the other jaws that weren't dressed up in black Bat-armor. Diana blinked and shook her head.

"I-uh-well...you're welcome"

Batman squeezed her arm in acknowledgment and nodded his head to the screens.  
"The Joker?" he asked.

"Threatening the city with explosions, and he has two ferry boats at hostage. Better yet, we cannot locate him" Flash said gravely.

Batman let out a snarl. "How is he free?"

Diana looked down at her feet and shook her head gravely. Superman stepped forward.  
"My fault Batman...he..."

Superman sighed and hung his head ashamed, "His hair isn't green for aesthetic reasons alone...he had kryptonite grinded to a liquid and sprinkled on his head. He goaded me into...well, he escaped"

Batman looked at Superman without a reaction; he just looked at the League calmly.

"Dent?" he asked the room.

Nobody wanted to answer. They all looked at one another out of the corner of their eyes.

Batman understood, he breathed in and looked at the screen.

"How long?"

J'onn spoke up, "1 week"

Batman nodded and walked up the screen, leaving a confused League staring behind him. He worked the keypad without pause.

The League looked at each other and shrugged; they didn't have any idea what he was doing. Diana walked up to him and stood behind, waiting.

Batman sensed her presence behind and spoke aloud while he worked the computer.

"I asked you for your help"

Diana nodded, "yes, you did"

Batman stepped back from the computer, and turned to her. "I need you to speak"

Diana raised an eyebrow. "What do you wa-"

A loud high-pitched sound erupted throughout the room as the computer screen went blank. Diana stared around the room in confusion. She looked back to Batman, who didn't react to the events around them in the slightest.

"What did you do-"

A calm feminine voice rang out throughout the room.

"_**VOICE RECOGNIZED. SATELLITE SYSTEM ACTIVATED"**_

The Watchtower groaned and the room began to shake.

Flash looked around vividly. "Hey what the heck is going on!?"

Batman stood calm and quiet while the others looked around nervously.

Clark jumped into the air and looked at Batman. "What did you do? Why is everything shaki-"

The room stopped and the loud calm female voice rang out again.

"_**SATELLITE REALIGNED. SYSTEMS ONLINE"**_

The screens fizzled for a second or two, and then became a violent blend of blue and white light. The room was flooded with a dazzling display of the two colors and a loud whirling sound radiated from the computer as a series of images rapidly sped through in blinding blue and white light.  
The League covered up their eyes as the brilliant light filled every corner of the room. Batman alone stood stoic and cool, the light from the Computer clashed against his frame and smoothly radiated at his sides; creating a solid Black Silhouette in the horde of white-blue.

"_**GOTHAM CITY ONLINE, CURRENT LOCATION – GOTHAM GENERAL HOSPITAL"**_

The screen became a blue-print like representation of Gotham City; it showed the ruined remains of a building. It was blackened with char and ashes, rubble covering the entire area.

The League members walked up to image with amazement and confusion shining from their faces.

"How did you tr..." Superman stared in bewilderment, he turned to Batman. "What is this?"

Batman moved from the computer and began to punch in coordinations into the teleporter.

"It's a high-frequency generator receiver...it turns every cell-phone in Gotham into a microphone that sends out sonar waves..."

"...That are read by the receiver and then sent back to this machine to be flesh-out" J'onn finished.

Batman turned to J'onn and gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

Superman stared at the screen. His mouth closed and he turned back to Batman, "this can map out the entire city...and the people don't have any idea do they?"

Batman stayed quiet.

Superman steeled his eyes and nodded, "Of course they don't"

"Have we always had this capability in our computer?" J'onn asked.

Batman finished inputting the coordinates and turned to J'onn.

"Yes."

"You're lying" Diana stated immediately.

The entire room looked at her in shock and interest; expect Batman, who didn't react.

Diana exhaled slowly. "The visit, when you first arrived. I thought you remained quiet behind us while the video played out, but you didn't. You installed it somehow didn't you?"

Batman didn't answer her; he looked back to the screen and stared there.

Diana grew angry, "you didn't come back to help us out, or to answer our call. You came here for yourself...just like you always do."

Batman's attention snapped back to her at the last statement, he opened his mouth in furious response, but then closed them. He stood still, and then shook his head.  
"It was before the city demanded I turn myself in...I was there during the video, every step of the way."

A large portion of Diana's anger dissipated, she raised an eyebrow, "Why install this here the first place?"

"The Watchtower was the only private satellite that had the capacity and isolation that the machine could function on."

"Why did you lie?

Batman walked up to her, staring hard. She stared right back, her chin out defiantly. He stopped a few inches short of her nose.

"Because I knew one day, the only person I would be able to trust with this machine...would be you"

Diana dropped her defiant face for a second. She looked at him bewildered. _Did he just confess that he needed my help_?  
Diana struggled to recover and maintain her defiance, but she couldn't shake off what he said to her.  
"What makes you...? What makes you think that I'd help you after this?" she asked hesitantly.

Batman stared at her and then reached down to his hands; he removed his right hand glove and let it fall to the floor. He then reached over with his bare hand and grasped hers. He felt her warmth encase his cold hands and looked down. He squeezed her fingers gently and then looked back up at her.

"Because...because I can't do this alone...and I haven't got anyone else. I never did."

Any remnants of Defiance in Diana evaporated on the spot at that, but she wasn't thinking about that. She was currently trying to figure out why all feeling in her right hand had ceased. Then she remembered that Batman had reached over and touched her without his armor, he was extending an olive branch...an INTIMATE olive branch. This wasn't the normal stoic and cold-calculating Batman...she didn't know who was in front of her. _Bruce_?

"I-I..." Diana began.  
She turned to the computer and looked over the city, she was looking at power. Lots of power. This kind of machine could control Governments, launch warheads...destroy countries. Her gaze turned to Superman; she could see him working it out. He looked up to her eyes, and then he looked at Batman. He then turned his head, and look back at the computer, a shade of guilt in his eyes...he reached the same conclusion she did.

She looked to the League, they too were looking away from the pair...everyone in the room knew what was at stake.

She looked back to Batman and she squeezed his hand tightly, "I'm ss..."

Diana closed her eyes and breathed in shakily.  
"I'm sorry Batman...but this is too much power for one person...even you"

"That's why I gave it to you...only you can use it."

Diana's eyes shot opened and she stepped back from him, releasing his bare hand.

"Wha—What?"

Batman nodded to the computer. "It has been coded to your DNA, all I needed was for you was to speak and encode itself to your voice...It will only work for you."

Diana stared at him with a mixture of anger and wonder. She turned back to the other League members who reciprocated her feelings...at least their faces said so.

"I can't. I won't—"

Batman stepped forward.  
"Diana _please_...I need your help...I need to find this Man."

Diana stared at him, helpless. "This is the kind of power YOU warned US about...Incredible Power? Wielding it wrong? These are YOUR words..." Diana couldn't finish. She let out a small cry and stepped back from him.

"I'm sorry"

Batman stared at her, his mouth slightly opened in shock. He reached out to her but she turned away. Batman stood there, he looked to the League.  
"Clark?"

Superman shook his head gravely, "I'm sorry..."

Batman looked to the rest, "J'onn...Wally...Shayera...J'onn?"

They all shook their heads, looking down to the floor...unable to face Batman...Batman pleading at them.

Batman looked at all of them, his figure faltering.  
"You don't understand" he said to the room, "I need to this find this man...he is going to destroy Gotham...my _home_"

The League felt a pang go through their guts; they never heard this kind of emotion from Batman...

Batman looked to Diana his voice hoarse.  
"Diana...everything I've done...the years I've spent...it will be undone"

Diana's closed her eyes and felt them watering, she turned her face away. Her heart was breaking.  
Batman turned to Clark.

"Clark Please...I am aski—I am begging you...I need your help"

Superman looked at Batman, the stoic man who never asked for anything...reduced to begging in front of him. Clark expected anger, resentment from Batman, anger that he always gave, and never asked.

And here they were, denying him when he called in the favor.

Clark almost assented, he almost gave in. But he looked back to the screen and saw the machines potential...it was corrupting.

He looked back to Batman.

"This machine...it has great power...power that scares me, and I've been around great power since I was born."  
Clark looked around the room, looking at everyone.

"Today if we use it...out of necessity...it will be the first step in a long, but dangerous path. Maybe we don't use it for another 10 years...but one day the need will rise again, and we'll reason, 'We used it once...no one was hurt. Why not again?' And we'll use it, again. Each time we consider the consequences less and less, using it more frequent. It could become a very useful tool..."

Superman looked back to Batman. "...but this is too much power for anyone person...even somebody as noble and rigid as you Batman."

"Clark I will never use this to hurt innocents, to terrorize. I've DEDICATED my entire life to Gotham, to the people. I DON'T have powers, I don't have special abilities...I'm a human being...and I haven't done anything to prove that I'll abuse this otherwise. I FUNDED this Watchtower...I've dedicated everything to fighting for the good...why can't you trust me? I've **EARNED IT**"

Superman winced at Batman's roar...but he shook his head, "Yes Batman...I know that...but we cannot trust you with this power over us. You betrayed us before, for the GOOD...what is stopping you from doing it again? We couldn't find you the two years you disappeared. We didn't have any trace of you. You can disappear from us; you're this silent wraith that could be behind me at any moment."

Clark nodded to the machine, "With this Machine...we wouldn't be able to stop Batman..."

Clark raised a hand to destroy the computer, "I'm sorry Batman, but we cannot trust you with this..."

The entire room stared at Superman, they all nodded...they knew what needed to be done. Clark nodded and pulled his arm back.

"Wait"

Clark stopped in the air and turned to Batman, waiting expectantly.

Batman looked at Superman, at J'onn, Wally, John, Shayera...and then finally _Diana_.

He smiled at her, and stated quietly. "We lie to ourselves to be happy."

Diana stood there confused. _What is he talki—OH._

Diana's eyes widened, she remembered that line. Bruce Wayne said that to her, but why was Batman repeating tha – _**OH!**_

Batman smiled, he turned back to the league and raised his hands to his cowl. Ra's Al Gul's voice whispered in his head, _Do What Is Necessary._

Batman knew what was necessary.

He spoke aloud, "You can't trust Batman with this machine..."

Batman removed the cowl from his head, and gazed calmly at the League.

Bruce Wayne stood in the middle the room, surrounded by shocked faces and expressions.

He looked directly at Superman with a piercing glare. Superman stood there, his mouth hanging open.

"...How about Bruce Wayne?


	15. The Plan

Diana grinned as she looked around the room, gleefully absorbing the reactions of her fellow members. She was the only one to figure it out after all, she earned it.

John was rubbing his head and laughing; Flash was practically drooling; Shayera's eyebrows threatened to escape the room and elevate into outer space; J'onn was slowly stroking his chin and nodding his head, but the greatest reaction that Diana enjoyed was Clark's. His jaw was wide-open. Unhinged. His tongue might as well have rolled out onto the floor.

"Bruc—Bruce WAYNE!?" Superman cried out.

Diana looked to Bruce; he stood tall with the cowl in his hands, his hair a ghostly mess of Bruce Wayne's signature sleek back hair. His face was mostly healed from the injuries of the explosion, but they left behind sharp scars and light shades of black and purple. It gave him the appearance of an aging fighter or veteran soldier, someone who grew accustomed to being battered and beaten, but didn't bounce back with the same virility as before.

She looked down from his face to his plated armor, it looked odd. Batman emitted such an adamant and stoic presence, that it contrasted brilliantly with the preconceptions of Bruce Wayne's sly, graceful playboy personality. She just couldn't picture Bruce Wayne's head on top of the bat suit, nor could she picture Batman's body underneath Bruce Wayne's head. It was as if they were two different entities...sharing one body. Yet, here he was. Bruce Wayne, playboy billionaire Dark Knight.

"Yes I'm Bruce Wayne. Clark, please, we don't have time for this."

Diana looked up to Bruce, He paid no attention to the baffled reactions around him, and appeared unfazed by Clark's stuttered reaction as well, but the way his eyes focused on Superman, the slight curvature of his mouth; Diana was sure that she could see a hint of satisfaction hiding in Bruce's piercing hazel stare.

Clark blinked at Batman. "You're Bruce Wayne"

Bruce sighed, and nodded his head. "Clark please, yes I'm Bruce Wayne. The same Bruce who invited you to the party, the same Bruce that Lois pretended to be infatuated with so that you would get jealous, the same one B-"

Superman's attention quickly snapped onto Lois as he heard this information . "She what?!"

Bruce walked to the computer and rolled his eyes. "That's what gets your attention."

Clark grinned happily to himself.

Bruce laid down the cowl on the desk and began to type into the keyboard, pretending to ignore the "inconspicuous" mutters and conversation happening behind him.

"How on Earth..."

"I totally saw this coming"

"Wally you idiot, yo-"

"Makes sense if you analyze all the evidence and –"

"Heh-heh-eh, what did I tell you. Hiding in plain sight"

Diana walked up beside Bruce, picking up the cowl in her hands. She ran her fingers over its surface, pausing over the chips and cracks from the events before. It was hard to believe that this small object would be easily pulverized to dust in her hands, that something so weak and insignificant could conceal the identity of a mortal man for years. The symbol of Batman was so fragile once you understood the man behind the mask.

She looked up to Bruce, who was steadily looking into the Monitor, hardly recognizing her presence. She placed the cowl down and gazed back up at him.  
"Bruce"

Bruce nodded slightly, but didn't turn away from the monitor. Diana smiled warmly and extended her arm over the keyboard, placing her hand on top of Bruce's.

"Bruce."

Bruce's typing stopped. He looked away from the monitor and closed his eyes. He reversed his hands and gently rubbed his gloved fingers against her palm. He looked down and stared at his cowl.

Diana wrapped her hand around his and gently squeezed. "I'm sorry, for making you take it off"

Bruce shook his head,. "It was necessary"

Diana nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, but that doesn't mean it was an _easy_decision"

Bruce snorted. He looked up away from the cowl and turned his attention to their hands, joined together. He inhaled deeply. "I guess I owe you an apology"

Diana piqued her head in curiosity, "For what? Not telling me? I understan-"

"—for kissing you at the party"

Diana shifted awkwardly.

"...oh"

Bruce released her hand, and picked up the cowl.

"I knew you were with Steve all along, but I nee–_Bruce Wayne_ needs to keep up an appearance. You were the most beautiful women there, you're Wonder Woman...Bruce Wayne couldn't resist. It was just an act"

Bruce began to lift the cowl up over his head; Diana reached out and stopped his arm. Bruce looked up at her.

"Was it just an act for you?"

Bruce blinked. "Of course Diana, I didn't mea-"

Diana tightened Bruce's arm. "Bruce...please."

Bruce looks down at the cowl in his hands, absorbing the gravity of the question. Diana was with Steve, she was happy. She didn't need Bruce. Death surrounds Bruce Wayne; Thomas and Martha Wayne, Officer Greene, Lily Greene...Rachel.

_Rachel._

Bruce looked at the damaged cowl. The chips and cracks were mementos to that night. Despite all of his resources, all his training, Bruce couldn't even save his only childhood friend.

Bruce looked up at Diana, her blue eyes so immersive he could feel her reading his very thoughts.

_Then you know I can't lose you too Diana, not like Rachel. Not like my Parents.  
_

He carefully reached up and pulled Diana's arm off his. He saw her face tighten as she let her arm fall to her side. He turned the cowl over and slipped it on.

"It was just an act"

She tried to hide it, she kept her jaw tight and her eyes focused, but Bruce was a master detective; he knew how to read people. But Bruce didn't rely on his skills, he just _knew_; as if gravity had vanished; he knew on a bone-deep level that she was hurting. She was hurting because of what he said, and it tore Bruce inside. It was an icy blade jutting through his stomach.

He looked back up to the Monitor, pretending to act ignorant to the agony he was inflicting on himself and Diana. Diana nodded briskly and turned her attention to the screen as well, pretending to act as if his answer had no deeper affliction.

A forced layer of amicability filled the room.

"So what can we do to help you Batman?" Diana asked, business-like.

Batman played right along. He coughed and nodded his head toward the screen.  
"The computer is loaded with the Joker's audio samples, we need to wait until he begins talking and/or makes his move. When he does, the nearest radio-wave capable device will broadcast his location."

J'onn came up behind them, "The Joker doesn't strike me as the one who carries a cellular device on his person"

Diana looked at J'onn, interested. "You're taking this whole thing rather well"

J'onn shrugged and nodded to Batman. "This revelation makes absolute sense when you follow the logic. Bruce Wayne as Batman is...how should I put this? It is a...Appropriate example of "Hiding in plain sight"

"Hey! That's what I said!" John called behind them.

J'onn paid no attention behind him. He turned to Batman. "You will need to set up radio beacons to ensure that the Joker's next move does not go unnoticed."

Batman looked up at the screen and brought up a large-scale image of Gotham City.

The loud feminine voice rang out again.

_** Gotham City, five hundred and fifty five square miles, Current population: Ten million, four hundred and fifty seven thousand. **_

Batman brought up the grid outline of Gotham, selecting 5 points that were evenly distributed across the City.

"These five points" Batman explained. "Are evenly balanced across the city, if we can get radio beacons set-up at these locations, we'll at least insure we get a sense of which side of the City the Joker will be hiding."

Flash walked up to them, "How big do these Beacons have to be Bruc-"

Batman glared at Wally.

"Ergh- I mean Batman" Flash corrected.

Batman shook his head and typed into the computer, drawing another schematic for satellite-like towers. "To answer your question, _Wally, t_hese towers need to be at least 90 feet in height and 40 in length."

John whistled behind them, "Yeah, you're not getting those into Gotham without drawing some attention."

Wally looked at John, expectantly.

John pointed to the screen, "Those are high frequency radio towers. The Military uses them to send long range signals and pick up on enemy communications. They're very effective...but in wide-open areas. Gotham city is a maze of buildings and towers; the signals will bounce around haphazardly. The towers will need to use up an incredible amount of energy to receive and sent out those signals without overlapping."

Batman nodded; "Correct...I'll talk to Gordon..." Batman considered this then turned to face the League as a whole, "..._you all will _talk to Gordon."

Superman arched his eyebrows.

Batman pointed to himself, "If everything I have come to understood is correct, then the city has seen Batman with the charred body of a district attorney, and it has seen the mutilation of its White Knight. I am no longer in the public's favorable eye, especially now that Harvey Dent took the fall for Batman."

"But Gordon trusts you, he isn't out of the loop like the rest of the city" Superman argued.

Batman walked over to the teleporter, "Gordon needs the mayor's authority for these Beacons. The mayor does not trust Batman. The League on the other hand...is the shining example of Justice and hope. The mayor won't think twice."

Superman shook his head and spoke aloud, his voice resonating with everyone in the room.

"That isn't how it's going to be Bruce."  
Batman stopped in his tracks, he turned around, his eyes fixed on Clark.

Superman looked squarely at Batman, "You may act like what you just did has no further implications, but I won't. What you did...it wasn't easy. Maybe it was out of desperation, but you have entrusted everyone here with your identity...something you've held sacred over the years that we've known you. That is something nobody here will forget."  
Superman walked up to Batman, "You're one of us now, Bruce. We won't abandon you. We will not hide you out of shame. The world will just have to accept that that...even the mayor"

Batman looked at the Superman and then around the room. He inhaled and considered his words carefully.

"I'm not like you Clark. I'm not like any of you. You're all a shining example of justice, whereas I have to consistently flicker against the Law. I have done terrible things...and it's only getting worse. Look at the MCU..."

Batman's gloves audibly cracked as Batman tightened his fists. "I almost killed the Joker, and I _liked it._"

Batman looked up to Superman, anger in his voice. "I **liked **having that power. I knew that he was helpless, that I could snap his neck at any moment. He would have been powerless to stop me. HE **COULDN'T STOP ME**"

Batman was breathing heavily, he didn't realize when he began screaming.  
He closed his eyes, snarling with anger toward himself. He was better than this. He needed to control himself. He looked back up and spotted Diana standing in the background behind Superman; she wasn't looking at him, she stared at the floor, shame on her face. Bruce recoiled and shifted his eyes away.

His eyes gravitated to the other quiet faces in the room; they all managed to look at him without meeting his gaze.

Batman's hoarse voice quietly echoed throughout the room.

"When he laid on the floor, beaten and bleeding...I wanted to kill him. It was so easy to have killed him. And you all saw it. You all knew. Gordon knew."

Batman turned back to the teleporter, punching in coordinates. "You're all the symbol of hope that I can never be. This is my last request to you all; I'll send you the information on your meeting with Gordon."

Batman didn't look back at the group. He wouldn't have been able to have keep calm if he saw Diana recoil away from him. He punched the execute button, then he was gone.

The room went quiet.

"Well..." Flashed drawled into the silence, "That went well"

J'onn walked straight to the computer, "Indeed. Most interesting"

John primed his lips, "Yeah. What a day huh?"

"I knew it" Flash stated, assurance ringing through his voice.

Shayera snorted "Oh for god sake Wally you did not."

"And how would you know huh?"

"Wally, you are such..."

Superman turned away from the conversation, focusing on the gravity of the events. He stared at the computer and the radio tower. He called aloud to John, "Is it really that difficult for the radio towers?"

John walked up beside and rubbed his ring. He solemnly nodded, "Afraid so, they'll suck Gotham dry of power without additional support"

He turned to Flash, "You wouldn't be able to generate the needed electricity?"

Flash shook his head, "I can move my weight around extremely fast, but that doesn't mean I can move electrical turbines at the same speed"

Superman exhaled. He nodded and turned to Diana, but stopped at the sound of muttering. J'onn was steadfastly typing into the computer, blazing through files. He could barely make out J'onn's incessant whispers. "Makes perfect sense now, everything is correct...The resources, the motivation..."

Superman shrugged and turned back to Diana, who was staring angrily at the spot where Batman had vanished. Superman silently cursed Bruce. That comment about Lois had been smoke-screen; he didn't focus on the exchange between Diana and Bruce.

Clark carefully approached her. "Diana, look...whatever happened, just know tha-"

Diana suddenly looked up, a new determination in her eye.  
She turned to J'onn. "Why do you say that J'onn? What makes sense?"

Superman looked uneasily between Diana and J'onn. He hated being outside of the loop.

J'onn beckoned her over with a nod of his head. Everyone in the room followed suit, interested in this new development.

J'onn cleared his throat, "While we were searching for Batman's identity in Gotham, we came up with characteristics that make up who he is...characteristics that his identity would have to uphold." J'onn clicked on a file, and a list opened up. "Great Financial resources, genius-level intellect, detective skills, forensic skills, master-level martial arts training, top level physique etc."

"Yeah...I remember J'onn, we've been over this, but that still got us nowhere" Flash remarked.

J'onn ignored Wally's comment and continued as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Batman's characteristics were so unique that only a few people fit that information. Before the fundraiser, we went over information and we naturally removedBruce Wayne from our list. By doing so we were doomed to fail in our search." J'onn typed into the computer, and the screen came to life with articles and images of Bruce.

Diana looked at the pictures; they ranged from his childhood, to his adolescence, and culminating with his more recent age. Her eyes focused on a picture of him and two other adults, presumably his parents. He was smiling, laughing even. Bruce was lifted onto his father's shoulders, his hands thrown into the air with the lofty childhood innocence that every child loses as they mature. His mother was laughing with her hands on his father's chest.. Diana smiled at the picture; there was something in their eyes that made her long for her own family.

Flash piped up again, annoyed that his last comment was blown off. "Old news!"

J'onn glared at Wally with great disdain. Wally grinned.

Diana moved her eyes away from the picture and looked at J'onn, gesturing him to move on.

J'onn nodded, "Looking into Bruce's history, we find that what we were looking for was right in front of us, but we couldn't connect the pieces." J'onn selected an article with the title _5 –Year Old BRUCE WAYNE SCORES IN UPPER 99__th__ PERCENTILE._

"Bruce's intellect is vastly underestimated, during his formative years, he scored in the 99th percentile in IQ testing; genius level intellect. He scored so high that his school published his achievement in their monthly newspaper."

J'onn then switched to a new article, this one more recent, issued 6 years ago in the Gotham Times, labeled _GOTHAM PRIVATE SCHOOL "IVY ELEMENTARY" UNDER INVESTIGATION OVER BOTCHED TEST RESULTS._

"This article was published 6 months after Batman was reportedly first spotted in Gotham" J'onn stated, "The school went under heavy investigation, and had to withdraw all of its previous statements over any standardized testing, including IQ"

J'onn selected another document that listed Stock exchanges and buy-outs.  
"A private detective firm personally led the charge. And if we trace the stock exchanges here, we find that the firm can draw its roots back to a company that was bought by Wayne Enterprises."

John opened his mouth in an "Aha" manner, he was the first to catch on, "He was covering his tracks."

"Correct" J'onn remarked, "With the results viable, Bruce Wayne saw his intellect as a link to Batman, so he discredited the results, and hid his intellect. To further disguise himself, he began a life of womanizing and drinking, he became what we know of him today as...a playboy philanthropist."

J'onn typed into the computer, and another article came up:

_GOTHAM'S PRINCE RETURNS: BRUCE WAYNE RETURNS AFTER 10 YEAR ABSENCE_

"This article was published 6 months before Batman was first reportedly spotted. Bruce Wayne disappeared from Gotham when he was 18."

J'onn switched to another article in a fashion magazine of Gotham,  
"When asked by reporters, Alfred, the Butler we had the pleasure of meeting, stated that Wayne had left to travel the world's exotic locations; Cancun, Hawaii, Paris etc"

J'onn switched to yet another article, this one a tabloid gossip.

"Yet no pictures of Bruce himself at these locations ever surfaced, only postcards and panoramic pictures. This article alone pieced this together, and no-one in Gotham took it seriously because of the tabloid's reputations."

J'onn turned to the League.  
"I myself could not find one piece of evidence on his location, even with this computer."

"That must hurt the ego, eh J'onn?" Flash asked, smiling.

J'onn narrowed his eyes and turned back to the computer.

He drew up the video feeds from the training room, displaying a dozen files, all of them tiny squares of different colored segments. Some were night-vision green, and others were brilliant displays of white, blue, red; the result of diffracted light from the environmental simulations of the sparring room. The League gazed over the spread of video footage, all of them a variation of Batman in action: from combat to stealth, gliding to sprinting, meditating to stretching, etc. One feed displayed hand-to-hand combat, and another displayed swordplay. The top right corner of the monitor had a brilliant display of Batman practicing his drop attacks and stealth take-downs, while the screen below displayed Batman throwing bombs and Batarangs.

It went on like that: swords, guns, leg-kicks, punches, glides, jumps...some even showed Batman using them all together.  
One thing was prevalent throughout all feeds; Batman never faced a lone enemy, and all were heavily armed and hostile: rocket launchers, assault rifles, bows and arrows, throwing knives...every possible weapon you could think of. One amusing video showed Batman facing off against three thugs who were using a fire hose.

John highlighted different videos. "During our investigation, I studied Batman's fighting technique. I had always assumed that he created it from a trial and error method from his time in Gotham, but with this new revelation of Batman's identity, it can be inferred that in the 10 year absence, Bruce must have traveled around the world, studying different Martial Arts, picking up on the different techniques and forming his own variation."

"So he spent ten years learning how to fight, his detective skills...wow, it does make sense" Flash admitted.

"How did we miss all this? I mean, it was right in our face." Superman said bewildered.

John agreed. "Yeah, J'onn, when you were researching all this, it never occurred to you?"

J'onn shook his head gravely, "Unfortunately no. And it never would have. I was missing one final piece of the puzzle, the most important piece. A Rosetta stone"

"Rose-what?" Flash asked confused.

"A key stone, Wally" John stated, as if the word clarified everything.

Wally stared at John. "That's supposed to help?"

John eyed him coolly and chuckled.

"Rosetta stone" J'onn enunciated, irritated. "It is a metaphorical expression. In this context, it is the code that will solve the riddle."

"The riddle being Batman's identity?" Shayera asked.

J'onn nodded. "The Reason why I could never solve the identity of Batman was because the keystone or the central clue that would decipher the riddle of Batman's identity...was Bruce Wayne himself."

"eh?" Flash asked, ever suave.

"Motivation." Diana said quietly

Everyone turned to look at her, except J'onn, who only looked at the screen.

Diana turned to them, her voice a whisper.

"Motivation. His parents. Batman...Bruce...That's the keystone." She turned to J'onn, "Something traumatic, right? Back when you first told us about Batman's damaged psyche, you said it would have taken something life-changing, something that would morph him into what he's become..."

J'onn nodded solemnly, "Yes Diana, you're correct."

He typed into the screen, "Until today I never thought to pursue this angle, but with this...it all fits."  
J'onn pushed a button, and drew an article on the front page of Gotham Times, a bold headline with a giant image underneath read:

_**GOTHAM'S BELOVED WAYNE FAMILY SUFFERS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY; THOMAS AND MARTHA WAYNE GUNNED DOWN IN FRONT OF 8-YEAR OLD SON BRUCE. KILLER STILL AT LARGE.**_

Everyone looked up to the monitor.

What they saw on the screen would haunt the very edges of their subconscious for years to come.

It was an alley; decayed and decadent. A lone streetlight illuminated the area, casting hazy yellow light across the chipped walls and cracked concrete floor. The crimson red of the brick walls that must have once radiated brilliant and proud, was now a shadow of its former self, faded and almost unrecognizable behind the graffiti and filth that was layered all around. At the far end of the alley, where the light had begun to falter and die out, lay three figures, grouped together.

At the center was a young boy, dressed in a sharp tuxedo. His black hair was plastered to his face and his skin was paler than moonlight. The boy was staring into the vast darkness ahead, tears streaking down his cheeks and his red eyes clashing brilliantly against his pale skin.

It was an 8 year old Bruce Wayne, knelt over two bodies: his parents.

His mother lay across the father's chest, dressed in a beautiful black dress and coat. Her arms lay limp to her sides, her head hung upside down uselessly, baring her raw white neck to the world. Blood was trickling up from her ruby red lips, staining her blonde hair. She stared out into the night; her mouth gaped open, paralyzed and frozen. The ghostly remnants of terror etched into her lifeless eyes. She died screaming.

Thomas Wayne lay on the floor, his body askew. His right hand was tightly latched onto Bruce's, his left hand outstretched, extending into the alley. His eyes were focused intently onto Bruce, his mouth partly opened, as if he just finished saying something to his son.

A pool of blood collected near Thomas Wayne's left hand, staining the immaculate white cuffs of his Tuxedo. His fingers were slightly curled around a torn necklace of pearls that were scattered across the alley. Some red, some white, some an enthralling polka-dot mixture of the two.  
The pearls closest to the bodies were the darkest and shiniest variation of red, huddled together closely, adjacent to the puddle of blood.  
The pearls that were a mild distance away were the polka-dotted red and white, oddly colored and not entirely proportionate in their color scheme.

The farthest pearls, the ones that ventured deepest into the vast shadow of the alley, away from the yellow light, were bone-white tiny orbs that shone brilliantly against the darkness that tried to envelop them.

These were the pearls that hadn't been stained by Thomas and Martha's blood.

Diana tore away from the image, breathing heavily. A pregnant silence buzzed in the air.

J'onn's quiet voice filled the room. "This is what started it all"

"This is the damage that I explained, the trauma Batman would have had to go through. He personally witnessed his parent's death at an extremely young age...that kind of damage could do anything to an undeveloped mind...a child's mind. This picture was taken by 20 minutes after the parent's deaths, and Bruce stood hunched over in that exact position until the police had to escort him away."

"It's inhumane" breathed Superman.

"So this is why he does what he does...How cruel of the world to do that to a child." Shayera cried out.

"That isn't the worst part." J'onn stated.

The other's looked at him, half-amazed, half-horrified that Batman's agony deepened further.

J'onn brought up a dozen magazine articles and police reports. He highlighted all of them and brought up specific quotes and images.

"In the investigation of such a high-profile murder, they questioned everyone in contact with the Wayne family. According to the audience members that were near the Wayne family at the Opera, at about 2 quarters through the performance, Bruce became frightened by the actors on-stage, and asked his parents to leave. They were killed shortly after leaving the Opera House."

Flash shuddered and shook his head, his eyes glued to the floor.

Diana cried out, tears in her eyes. "I'm guessing he thinks that it was his fault"

J'onn turned to her, a hint of sadness in his monotonous voice. "Yes."

Diana let out a sob mixed with a snort of disbelief. She looked up to the picture on the screen.  
"I can't...did they..." Diana cleared her throat. She wiped her eyes and turned to John. "What happened to the Killer?"

Everyone's eyes snapped immediately to J'onn.

J'onn stared at Diana and then turned back to the Screen. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. He shut off the computer, staring at the blank screen.

"They never found him."

The world became dizzying and unbalanced; Diana reached out to a railing, steadying herself. She held her stomach with another hand, she felt sick.

"Oh...Oh my..." Shayera breathed.

Superman rubbed his face, his voice muffled. "That must eat away at him"

_Oh Hera. _ Diana closed her eyes and absorbed Bruce's life. She thought she understood everything about Bruce when she deduced his identity...but _this_...She finally understood his outbreaks, his seething anger toward the world. He saw his parents die; _an 8 year old child...witnessed both of his parents __die__ in front of him. _

Diana repeated his words numbingly in her head, _You don't know death Princess, you're immortal, you don't know a thing about a mortal...about ME. _

_It only takes one bad day to turn somebody into a monster, to leave them so damaged...that they discard everything they were before._

His words haunted her. She thought he was being overly dramatic or just speaking out of anger. She had never considered that beneath the Cowl was such a broken human being.

Superman's voice brought her back to the world.  
"Well...this certainly changes things."

John nodded with wide eyes. "No argument here."

"How Did they never catch him?" Clark asked quietly

J'onn sighed and extended his palms, unsure. "Rumors say that he was killed by people in similar circumstances, others say that with the entire city searching for him, he fled Gotham...it's all speculation, the fact is...they never brought Bruce's parent's to Justice."

Flash looked up, "What about Bruce...I mean after he Became Batman...did he ever catch him? Or find out who he was?"

J'onn shook his head. "Nothing"

John rubbed his ring, his lips primed. "You're right Clark...that must eat away at him...Batman always figures it out, he puts the pieces together, and yet...he couldn't solve his own parent's murder"

"How did he not..._lose it?_" Flash asked incredulously.  
Everyone looked at him, shocked.

Flash continued, "I don't know what I would do if that were me...I'd scream, I'd yell...I'd..." Flash continued aimlessly, staring into the air.

"He channeled that rage...he used it. You heard J'onn," Diana said, looking up at the League with a hint of steel in her voice. "This is what it took for him to become what he is today."

J'onn nodded; he walked to the teleporter and began to punch in coordinates.  
Flash looked at him. "What are you doing?"

J'onn took a deep breath and looked back to the League, "I think it is clear to everyone here that Bruce Wayne has more than earned a favor from us...from the world at that. After the revelation of his identity, something that is even more vital to Batman and his campaign than our own identities...I will not stand here and waste precious time."

Diana smiled; she walked over to stand by J'onn, pride ringing in his voice.  
"Agreed. Batman's greatest weapon is his identity. As he told Superman all those years ago...he represents a symbol. That anyone could be Batman. It is about being more than just a man; it's about being an ideal"

Diana motioned around the room, "I'm willing to bet that Bruce has some new contingency in his head to eliminate us...or at least render us incapacitated. But he didn't use it; he chose to reveal himself to us instead. He sacrificed a part of himself, so he wouldn't have to hurt us"

Diana finished punching in the last coordinates.

"And I'll be damned if we don't return the favor"

Clark, John, Wally, Shayera all grinned, a new glint in their eye. They entered the teleporter

Diana pushed the execute button.

**Gotham City – Shipping Yard.**

Diana inhaled deeply, hoping to breathe in the cool breeze of the ocean. Instead she got the cool breeze of Gotham's shipping yard. Diana scrunched her nose in distaste, _great, nothing like fish and motor oil._

Diana jumped into the air and looked down at Superman. "You know where the Mayor's office is, right?"

Superman nodded, "Yes"  
Diana turned her attention up to the Gotham Skyline, looking over the city, searching.

John flew up beside her. "What are you looking for?"

"Wayne Manor"

John raised an eye, but didn't question. "Go north for about 20 miles, turn right and follow 6th street down until you hit Avenu-"

Diana sighed, "John."

John grinned, he pointed his finger north-east.  
"Follow that until you get to a huge house. It's very isolated."

The others joined them in the air. Superman carrying Flash with one hand.

Superman looked at her, "You're not going come with us?"

Flash looked up excited, "yeah. What about waiting for Bruc – I mean Batman's signal?"

Diana began to ascend, basking in the sun. She smiled innocently.

"I'm going to talk to Bruce...see if I can't speed up the process."


	16. Giving In

Night had fallen, illuminating the charcoal black gates that guarded Wayne Manor. Diana began her descent 100 yards before the manor, landing gracefully just inside the tall gates. She walked up the pebble driveway, surrounded by the majestic presence of Goth statues, grand staircases, and marble fountains...the Manor demanded her attention. She walked across the vast grounds, admiring the lush green pasture and steady smooth trickle of the nearby fountains. It seemed bizarre that Batman, the reigning champion of all that is black and Goth, would live in a peaceful and beautiful environment. Here he was, nevertheless, living in paradise.

She turned back to the Manor and walked up the giant stairs to the double door entrance. Two giant **V's** were emblazoned on each door, connecting at the small opening between. Diana walked up to the door-knocker and realized that it was actually one giant **W **– _Wayne_. She traced the smooth raised letter, the woodcarving was simple in its design; narrow long lines chiseled into the wood, running both sides of the entire **V**. The simplicity of the design imbued the entrance with a steady and dormant sense of power, the Manor was not just wood and mortar...it was _alive._ Diana smiled to herself, she'd seen this design in action before; Batman's new military armor, the raised black bat symbol, silently, but powerfully emblazoned across his chest. Diana's hands finished tracing the design and found the giant brass knocker, she firmly grasped it and rung three loud and deliberate calls.

Nothing.

Diana waited patiently for another minute, and then tried again. Spacing out the knocks. Thud. Thud. Thud

Nothing.

Diana sighed. _Oh Hera, _of course it wasn't going to be easy.

She walked back from the porch and faced front-side of the manor, deciding on the next course of action. She flew up and began to circle the house, looking for any signs of life.

Out of the corner of her eye, a sharp piercing image coalesced in the sky. Diana looked up curiously and smiled in disbelief; the Bat-signal was bright in the sky, calling for Gotham's knight once again. Diana flew up higher and gazed over the area, waiting for Bruce/Batman to emerge from his home to answer the call.

A lone window on the east side of the manor flickered with light, a stark contrast to the dark and impassive face of the manor. A silhouette emerged behind the window's thin curtain, allowing Diana to just make-out a rather tall figure with something in his hands. The silhouette pushed back the curtain and revealed the aging charming butler—Alfred. Diana smiled as she laid eyes on the familiar witty gentleman, but her face turned somber as she realized what he was holding—a tray of needles and food.

Alfred looked out of the window and stared at the Bat-signal in the sky; he stared calmly at it for a full minute before he sighed dejectedly and muttered darkly to himself as turned away from the window. Diana waited until the light went out and then flew down to the ledge of the window, peering around the area for any alarms systems or cameras. With none in sight, Diana carefully slipped one hand under the glass and pushed up. With surprisingly little force, the window budged and slid open, allowing Diana to slowly slide one leg in at a time, careful to keep the glass from sliding back down. Diana glided in and set the glass back down quietly, hoping to catch Bruce off-guard. She turned from the glaze and froze in amazement when her eyes fell on the room; it was filled with the newest machinery and technology, all snugly placed in order and compartmentalized. She had snuck into a medical supply of some sort. There was a dazzling variation on display: bandages, painkillers, wraps, sutures, monitors, needles, powders, pills...It seemed to go on forever. Diana's eyes fell on a particular glass-encased item that stood out from all the rest. It was an older, more beat up and dirty item, very much unlike the clean and new tech all around. Diana walked up to glass display, inside was a stethoscope that had seen better years. It was charred and chipped, held together precariously by a lone wire that wrapped around the tubing. At the base of the display was small inscription of bizarre letters that Diana was not even remotely familiar with. The only characters that Diana could make out in the unknown language were two prominent letters; **T. W. **

"T. W." Diana repeated aloud. She didn't have the slightest clue what they meant, nor did she have any idea on how they fit into the bizarre language inscribed**. **

Muffled voices emitted into the room. Diana immediately stepped back from the case and jumped into the air, hiding above the doorway. She held her breath as she waited quietly in the air, her muscles all tensed and ready. In the steady silence, she could hear the muffled voices growing louder and clearer, but no footsteps could be heard. Diana carefully pressed her ear to the wall, focusing on the distorted voices.

She quietly waited for the muted voice, but this time, whatever gag or suppressor that had been used to restrain was removed. This time, instead of the convoluted and bland guttural moan, her intense sense of hearing picked up on an agonizingly clear human call.

A scream of pain echoed through Wayne Manor.

Diana immediately jumped back from the wall and kicked the door open with such ferocity that door was almost torn from its hinges.

Diana flew into the hallway and was treated to the maze of hallways and door's that was Wayne Manor. Diana looked around helplessly, the place was a mausoleum.  
The screaming ran echoed throughout the halls again. Diana grimaced and set off after the source. As she sped throughout the corners and narrow passages, the screams began to weaken and falter. Diana imagined the worse; whoever was responsible for those cries was losing consciousness, maybe even to their Death.

Diana could soon hear heavy breathing and panting in between the screams, the voices were getting closer. She turned the corner and saw light reflecting onto a door at the end of the hall. As she closed in, the screams died into long pants, and labored breathing.

Diana's blood ran cold.

It was Bruce breathing.

She reached the end of the hall and turned the final corner. She froze in mid-air at the scene in front of her.

Bruce was sitting in a chair, Alfred to his side, their backs facing her. Alfred knelt down to Bruce's left arm and began to remove the armor there. Diana looked to Bruce and saw that his entire torso was also stripped down to the bare skin, only his arms and legs were dressed. The cowl was next to his feet on the floor and pieces from his suit were scattered hap-hazard across the floor. Bruce sat still as Alfred methodically removed the upper arm portion of his black armor, revealing bruised and infected-looking skin.

Alfred placed the last piece to the floor and rubbed a swab on Bruce's left bicep.

"For the burns, sir"

Bruce didn't answer.

Alfred stood up and walked to a table behind him; Diana looked over and saw the tray he had in the medical room, the syringes. Alfred picked up a lone syringe and flicked the tip, expertly adjusting the fluid within.

"Ready, Master Wayne?" Allred asked quietly.

Bruce stayed silent.

Alfred smiled weakly and knelt beside Bruce.

"Very well, sir"

Alfred exhaled through his nostrils while smoothly injecting the needle into Bruce's arm, pushing down on the plunger. Alfred closed his eyes and whispered quietly under his breath, just as Bruce's stifled groans filled the room.

Bruce gripped the chair's armrest as his entire body tensed. His neck muscles bulged and his shoulders locked into place. A snarl of pain escaped through his gritted teeth.

Alfred's countdown rang aloud. "...5...4..."

Bruce's pants quickened, more ragged. The chair began to shake violently.

"...3...2..."

Bruce screamed so guttural something must have torn in his throat.

"...1"

Bruce groaned as Alfred removed the syringe, swiftly applying an adhesive jelly followed by a white wrap. Alfred stood up and walked to the tray, muttering and shaking his head, leaving Bruce to clutch his left arm as his breathing steadied itself. With a definite sigh, Bruce sunk into chair, laying his head back and letting his arms hang.

Alfred laid the syringe on top of the tray, and walked out through another door in the room. Diana cringed when she realized that the other syringes were similarly empty, all of them presumably responsible for Bruce's agonized cries. Diana stared at Bruce's back, searching for needle-marks when a sweet and delicious aroma filled the air.

Alfred had returned from the other room with another tray, this one filled to the brim with meats, vegetables, sweets, and pastries. Diana's stomach squirmed with desire, she had forgotten the last time she ate something besides the bland ration packs in the Watch-tower.

Alfred placed the tray down and reached into his breast-pocket, removing a small and tender white envelope. He paused and turned it over in his hands, gazing down at his charge carefully. For a brief second, all youthful cheeriness in Alfred's eyes vanished, leaving only worried and an aging lines in its absence. In that brief second, Diana caught a glimpse of the true extent of the silent relationship that Alfred and Bruce shared...Alfred wasn't only the father-figure to Bruce...Bruce was a son to Alfred.

Alfred laid down the letter to the tray, exposing the lettering to the world.

_Bruce._

Diana stared at the letter, her mind racing. She recognized it from somewhere.

Alfred picked up the tray.

"I've prepared a little Breakfast, sir"

Bruce stared at the ground.

Alfred hung his head. He placed the tray beside Bruce.  
"Very well."

Diana froze as Alfred turned away and began to walk back to the hall, right where she was inconspicuously floating in mid-air.

Diana opened her mouth in panic, "Oh-"

"Alfred..." said Bruce quietly.

Alfred paused and turned around, back to Bruce. Diana breathed silently in relief.

"Yes, Master Wayne."

Bruce stared at the ground, his voice quivering.

"Did I do this to her? I was meant to inspire good...not madness, not death."

Alfred stared down at his charge, his eyes weary.

"You _have_ inspired good, but you spat in the faces of Gotham's criminals...things were always going to get worse before they got better."

"But _Rachel, _Alfred..."

Diana's heart was breaking, the _pain_ in his voice was gut-wrenching. She never heard such sorrow from Bruce...from Batman.

Alfred looked down and reached to the Cowl on the floor; he picked it up and dusted it.

"Rachel believed in what you stood for, what Batman stood for...what _we_ stand for."

Alfred laid the cowl into Bruce's lap.

"Gotham needs you"

Bruce held the cowl in his hands, staring disgustedly into its eyes.

"No...Gotham needs its true hero...and **I let that** murdering psychopath, blow him half to hell."

Alfred grimly nodded. "Which is why, for now...they're going to have to make do with you".

Bruce looked up to Alfred; Diana saw something in his eyes that she never thought she'd see.

Tears.

"She was going to wait for me, Alfred." Bruce uttered, his throat thick with grief.

Bruce turned back to the cowl, his voice haunted.

"She was going to wait for me..."

Alfred blinked at Bruce. Then with a heavy sigh, as if undertaking heavy labor, he reached down to the tray, he picked up the letter_...Rachel's_ letter. Diana remembered now, it was the letter where she said she'd pick Dent...

Diana's eyes went huge.

Bruce looked up, "What's that?"

Alfred tucked it back into his breast-pocket.  
"It can wait"

Alfred gripped Bruce's shoulders and turned back around the hallway, back to Diana. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her hovering in the door way.

She smiled weakly at him.

Alfred looked over and back at Bruce. He turned around and nodded gravely. He walked past her and pointed to the tray of food.  
"Help Yourself"

Bruce spoke up from the chair. "What was that?"

"Nothing sir." Alfred called back. He bowed to Diana and jerked his head to Bruce.

Diana smiled and bowed her head, she got the message.

Alfred footsteps died out and a quiet silence filled the room. Only Bruce's breathing could be heard. Diana closed her eyes and went over her approach. A million different scenarios played out in her head. She decided on the simplest and easies approach. She descended down, touching the floor without a whisper of a sound. She rubbed her hands together and grimaced.

"Hey."

Bruce immediately stiffened.

She expected as much. She walked forward, her steps loud and clear on the floor. Bruce looked up from his chair to her. "So you're who Alfred was talking to"

Diana smiled softly.

Bruce nodded to the food.  
"He wasn't kidding, help yourself. I'm not hungry"

Diana shrugged and picked up a muffin. She bit into it, closing her eyes and reveling in the sweetness. She stayed like that for a few seconds, enjoying the warm gooey goodness.

Bruce kept his gaze on the cowl.

"What do you need Diana?"

Diana munched thoughtfully on the muffin. She tore a piece of the fluff and flicked it at Bruce's head.

Bruce picked up the piece of muffin and eyed it annoyingly. He turned to her.

"_Really_?"

Diana shrugged.  
"I figured that if we were going to sit here all day and feel sorry for ourselves, might as well make it fun"

Bruce's eyes hardened. She could practically hear his teeth grind. He inhale deeply and his knuckles popped, his voice icily calm.

"You...have _no idea_ what you're talking about"

Diana stared at him evenly.

"I think I have a pretty good idea, actually"

Bruce's calm demeanor broke. He shot up from his chair, his damp hair ragged over his unshaven face, his torso bare. A savage beast.

"Do. Not. Push. **Me**"

Diana glared back at him.

"Stop. Acting. Like. **YOU'RE ALONE**."

Bruce rushed up to her, chest heaving, his enraged hazel eyes were wide and dark, staring daggers into her eyes.

"You don't know what being **ALONE **is."

Diana eyed him back, her voice calm and resilient.

"No..." Diana quietly spoke, her eyes alight and bright, "...but I do know what it feels like to be hopeless."

Bruce breathed in ragged and guttural.

Diana continued, the heat rising in her voice.

"To not know what or when...to be ignorant for **YEARS**...to be **CAST OUT** like worthless trash..."

Diana stepped up to Bruce, closing the gap further, their faces inches away.

"...to wait what seemed like an eternity, _hoping_...that you might show up..."

Diana pushed a finger to Bruce's chest.

"...and it took you two years."

She tapped his chest twice. Her eyes never leaving his. "Why did it take you **TWO. YEARS?" **

A pregnant silence followed. Bruce kept his scowl up, but his eyes betrayed him. He looked at her, at a loss for words. His chest ceased rising dramatically. His breathes no longer ragged. He opened his mouth...then closed it again. He broke the gaze first, turning away from her.

Diana grabbed his arm.

"No."

Bruce stared at her hand.

Diana's eyes never wavered. She gripped his arm tight.  
"Tell me. Right now. No more hiding. No more puzzles. _Right NOW."_

Bruce looked up at her, surprised at the ice in her voice. He nodded slowly and to held up the arm that she had vice-gripped. She released him and waited.

"I...try to..." Bruce stammered. He clenched his fist and looked up back up to her eyes.

"Ever since my parents died, I push people away...before I can lose them" he said quietly. "Before something bad happens to them. All those people at parties and the women...they're all just part of the act...Rachel was my only real friend, and now it's just..." Bruce chuckled weakly down at his feet, "I'm Gotham's Billionaire...but I have no one else in my life"

Diana's glare evaporated. She held up a hand to his face, "That's not true, Bruce. You have me."

Bruce looked up at to her eyes. "But for how long?" he asked hoarsely. "How long before something terrible happens...before I'm not quick enough, or fast enough. Befo-"

"-What about me?" Diana interjected quietly.

Bruce eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What if I'm not fast enough?" Diana whispered.

Bruce blinked at her.

Diana let out soft laugh, "You don't have many blind-spots Bruce, but the few that you do are a mile-deep. "

Bruce eyed her, "What do you mean?"

"Bruce, you don't think that I've thought the same things. Do you know how many nightmares I've had where _**I **_have had to bury you?"

"I...I neve-"

"Do you how many times I've had to stand in there, watching the monitor, hoping that the Gotham Headline wouldn't be emblazoned with your death?"

Bruce let out a steady breath and coughed sheepishly, "I...I can't say that it ever occurred to me."

Diana smiled. "Look at that...Batman forgets his own mortality."

Bruce turned somber at that, he reached up and held up a rough hand to her smooth face, mirroring her. He lightly caressed her warm skin, the smooth texture was a rough contrast to his bruised and callous fingers.

"Even if we were together...Did you ever consider that one day, you'll wake up and I'll be an old man?"

Diana's grin faltered.

Bruce smiled faintly "I'm 32, Diana...I have what? 10 years left as Batman? That's if everything goes my way. Whereas you haven't aged a day since I first met you..."

"What If I don't care?" she replied, defiance ringing in her voice_._

"But _I _do, Princess." Bruce whispered.

Diana looked up at her nickname, her blue eyes huge and devastating. She looked fragile and young.

Bruce gently traced her bottom lip, "I won't put you through that agony...watching me waste away day by day...having to bury me." Bruce's hand slid off her face, he stepped back. His hazel eyes weary and sorrow.

"I'm sorry"

Bruce began to turn away when a blur of color flew at him, driving him to the floor. Arms wrapped against his torso, legs around his waist, binding him in a fever embrace. Hot lips pressed against his, numbing and consuming all thought in his mind. Bruce hungrily pressed back against Diana, his arms sliding around her waist, gripping her tighter against his chest. Diana growled fiercely, fueled by Bruce's response. She rolled them over, tumbling through room, locked and intertwined. Pieces of their armor were left in their path, black and red boots tossed to the side, black gauntlets mixed amongst silver bands, the belt cast aside with her breastplate.

The Bat-signal shimmered in the sky.


	17. Bruce and Diana

"Wallet! Jewelry, Fast!"

"Take it easy...just take it easy...here...just take it and go aw-"

"DAD!"

"**THOMAS! BRUCE, RUN AW-**"

* * *

"_Bruce...don't be afraid."_

* * *

Bruce gasped desperately for air, a man drowning from the tide.

His eyelids fluttered open, bleak and disoriented, staring up nauseated at the moonlit ceiling of Wayne Manor's Master Bedroom. Bruce's vision cleared and he shakily rubbed his face, exhaling into cold trembling fingers. His mouth felt dry, and his limbs weak and numb. It was the same haunting memory. The same haunting nightmare. His dislike for sleep didn't just encase his need to be alert at all times, but also because he was afraid to close his eyes every night...apprehensive to return to the darkness and filth of that Alley. To see that silhouette form in the shadows, slowly walking towards them, something in his hands...

Bruce shook his head violently, _just a dream, it's in the past. Breathe in your anger and fear._

_It's your reason to fight._

The reason why he pushed himself up every night, clearing his mind of everything but one task: Gotham City, but regardless of how many lives he saved, or how many lives he didn't... it was a vicious cycle that never failed to repeat itself. Even on a night like this.

_Even on a night like this..._

Bruce's hands froze over his face. He didn't wake up to the night, he began his routine at nightfall. He _slept_ at the rise of the sun, waking to Alfred's bedside begrudging concerns and vitamin shakes.

Bruce looked to his left. Look at that. No agonizing sunlight. No Alfred. No Vitamin Shakes.

On cue, soft steady breathing began to emit from his right.

A wave of memories slammed into Bruce, loud and blaring, all of them from hours before: Unmasking himself, The Radio Towers, the injections, Diana's visit, Alfred's pleadi-

_Diana's visit._

Bruce's eyebrows threatened to exit the stratosphere.

He slowly turned around, inch by inch, unsure of what to expect...or what he _wanted_ to expect. A million different explanations ran through his mind, although even the most plausible of them lacked consistency.

_I highly doubt Crane modified his nightmare hallucinogen gas to instead reverberate the fantasies of the inhalant's mind._

_Good point. He doesn't seem like the type to do that. He'd make a fortune if he did though._

Bruce shook his head and grinned absurdly to himself. _What on earth am I talking about?_

In that moment of absurdity, he forgot his hesitation and fully completed his arch. He turned around and his wide grin froze as he came upon the moonlit naked back and black glossy hair of Princess Diana of Themyscira.

He stared blankly at her.

_Maybe it's the moonlight, Bruce_ idly noted. _Yeah, that's what's causing the glossy hair._

Bruce's grin faltered.

_Or has it always been glossy?_

Bruce blinked a few more times before he began to realize why he was so focused on Diana's hair. _It's because if I fully embrace the situation...I don't know what I'll end up doing. _

_Probably something stupid, _echoed a small voice in his brain.

Bruce nodded absentmindedly. _Yeah...probably. So I'll just keep focusing on her hair. _

_Good idea, _replied the small voice.

_Thanks._

_Although...You do know that avoiding the issue is text-book drug-addict behavior, right?_

_What? No it isn't._

_Yes it is, Alfred told you about it after the confrontation with Victor Zsasz._

_Oh...So what do I do?_

_Don't look at me. You're the World's Greatest Detective. __You __come up with something._

Before Bruce could snap that the small voice in his head **was** a part of him, and should be damn well able to contribute to the subject at hand.

The subject woke up.

Diana let out a small moan-ish, yawn-ish murmur that immediately grabbed Bruce's attention by way of goosebumps. She stretched her neck and arched her back, causing the moonlit shadows to dance pleasantly across the smooth cream-colored skin of her upper back (Bruce noted that her lower-body and waist were partly covered by the sheets...offhandedly of course). Diana rubbed her eyes and cleared the hair from her face, moaning happily while she turned around, her head lying sleepily on the pillows. She looked up and her eyes blinked as the moonlight behind Bruce cast him into a familiar charcoal black silhouette..._except this time without pointed ears._ She smiled coyly up at him, her blue eyes fixed upon the white eyes that pierced against the silhouette.

Bruce reached across the white sheets and slid his hand over hers, massaging her hand before gently intertwining their fingers.

"Hey" he whispered.

"Hey" she hummed sleepily.

"Cold?"

"No."

"Good."

"...Yeah."

Steady silence followed. Soft breathing was all that was audible to the room. Bruce eyes became serious and focused his attention down onto their joined fingers, lightly brushing over the soft knuckles of Diana's hand. Diana eyed him amused, smirking as Bruce "inconspicuously" looked from the corner of his eyes to see if her attention was on him. Diana pretended not to notice as he quickly snapped his eyes back and forth, apparently focused on her hand with great interest.

After a beat of silence, Bruce turned his face to Diana, keeping his eyes on their hands, and opened his mouth to ask a question. He paused, leaving his mouth open. He forced a cough and moved to clear his throat, blinking and licking lips.

Diana grinned and rolled her eyes.

Bruce readied himself and then moved to brush imaginary strands from his face.

"...Hungry?"

"_Bruce."_

Bruce chuckled sheepishly. Diana buried her face into her pillow, bubbling with laughter. Bruce grinned widely and he laid back down next to her, holding his ribs from laughter. They lay like that, laughing at the ridiculousness of his hesitation. After a few minutes Diana's laughter subsided and she gazed steadily at Bruce, looking over his messy hair, his bare chest, swathed in muscle and scars.

"I've never heard you laugh before." Diana murmured quietly.

Bruce turned his head to face her, his eyes on her warm and snug face. In the heat of battle, Diana's eyes were narrow and intense piercing orbs that accentuated her sharp cheekbones and lean pinkish lips. She would have looked something like a terrifying angel if not for her thick lustrous black hair, which fell down to her shoulders, curling and framing warmth in the lean features of her face...She was an attractive and striking woman in every sense, but her beauty ran deeper than the mere surface. She didn't care to project the lust and desire that cover-girls prided themselves with, but rather her eyes and frame radiated power and grace, an embellishment of both beauty and strength.

Yet here, in the naked and unguarded intimacy between Bruce and Diana, her face only hinted at that fierce complexity, her narrow features focusing on the warmth and comfort of her face, but remained a faint echo of the terrifyingly powerful beauty that lie dormant.  
Bruce gently touched her face, gliding over her smooth skin, her faint rosy cheeks.

Over the years as Bruce Wayne Playboy Billionaire, he had attended many charity balls and cocktail parties, and as always, the subject of Women was an inevitable topic amongst the rich men of Gotham City: Models, Actresses, Secretaries, Prostitutes...all mentioned in the conversations. Bruce always knew that Princess Diana's name would eventually surface in the banter, and he was always a loud proponent on how much he would like to "Score a night with that piece of work". A loud murmur of agreement would ring throughout the group, and then, just like that, they'd move onto the next women.

Laying next to Diana, he couldn't see any other woman who could hold a candle to the Princess of Themyscira.

_Diana is beautiful. _

Bruce returned to her comment, he shrugged lightly. "I haven't laughed a long time."

Diana's eyes twinkled. "Of course you haven't...still, I liked hearing it."

Bruce smiled softly. "Alfred says the same thing".

"I don't doubt it." Diana mused.

Bruce grinned softly but it didn't reach his eyes. Instead they became focused with concern.

"Diana?" he asked quietly.

Diana looked up at him, faintly aware of what was on his mind.

"Bruce" she answered lightly.

Bruce closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"We can't just act like...you know...?" Bruce trailed off awkwardly.

Diana scowled. "Honestly, Bruce. You're supposed to be this terrifying monster of the night. You're not living up to your ideals."

Bruce raised his hands, exasperated. "Well how am I supposed to handle this? You're with Steve, remember?" Bruce sighed. "What about him_?_"

Diana frowned and looked away, she considered it and bit her lips. She turned to him quietly.

"What about Rachel?"

A cold pang shot through Bruce. He hesitated as Diana fixed her gaze on him, waiting patiently.

"I..." Bruce began. He pondered his words carefully before sighing in defeat. "...it's complicated."

Diana inclined her head.

"Ditto"

Bruce snorted. Diana grinned and shrugged innocently. Her expression lightened and she sifted through the sheets, edging closer to Bruce. She snug up next to him and placed a hand on his chest.

"But doesn't this feel right, Bruce?" she asked tenderly, her expression melancholic. Bruce eyed her carefully, before smiling gently in agreement.

"It does" he admitted, returning his hand to her cheek.

Diana smiled brilliantly, glad that somebody as serious and solemn as the Batman could agree on something so natural. She was secretly glad he was no longer trying to push everything away.

"Why couldn't you have said that two years ago?" Diana asked innocently, a touch of smugness in her voice.

Bruce grinned, he didn't miss the underlying smirk. He shrugged while bobbing his head in acknowledgment.

"Yeah...seems like it would have saved some trouble doesn't it?" he replied pensively.

Diana blinked at him, then she lightly thumped him on the head, "_The Dark Knight_ doesn't know everything, news at Eleven."

Bruce eyed her amused, "I'll admit, it's not as good as a moniker as _Wonder Woman_"

Diana scoffed half-heartedly, "_Wonder Woman_" she said ridiculously, "I sound like a circus act."

Bruce made an exaggerated motion to sit up and carefully focus his eyes and rest his chin on his fist, deep in thought – pretending to picture Diana as a circus performer.

Diana eyed him.

Bruce made a secret and _inconspicuous _motion to sneak a glimpse at her reaction.

She stared harder.

Bruce did a poor job of trying to stifle his laughter.

Diana sat up and playfully thumped his head again.

Bruce dropped the act and lay back down, laughing cheerfully.

Diana couldn't resist, she shook her head and found herself grinning and laying back down to Bruce, rolling her eyes.

Diana settled next to Bruce, propped up on an elbow aside a pillow.

"So what happens now?" she asked curiously.

Bruce's laughter slowly died away and his face regained a small part of its serious demeanor. Bruce looked past her, his face scrunched in thought. Diana hummed to herself, waiting for his response. After a few moments, Bruce exhaled, he bit his lip and then nodded slowly to himself.

Diana arched her eyebrows, waiting.

Bruce looked at her and grimaced.

"When this is all over...The Joker, Dent...we'll figure it then"

Diana narrowed her eyes.

"...And?" she asked, her question ringing in the air.

Bruce was taken-back, "_And _what_?"_

Diana sounded delirious. "_And What!? _You went all Zen for a second there...that's the best you can come up with?"

Bruce looked at her innocently, "You have any suggestion?"

Diana snorted out of disbelief, her expression absurd. _Of course I know a better way, we just need to..._

_...We just need to..._

Diana blinked.

The corners of Bruce's mouth twitched.

Diana slowly closed her mouth, _Where would they start? _

Never mind getting past the enormous hurdles that were Steve and Rachel...and then there was the small issue of her immortality.

But something else raced to the front of Diana's mind, amidst all the chaotic problems of their new relationship.

_What happens after? _

_Dating...Living together...marriage..._

Diana almost gasped as her mind raced forward.

..._Family?_

Diana felt uneasy, her ambition drawing out the absurd amount of complexities that would arise in their future. The question wasn't if Mortals and Amazon's were compatible with each-other, Amazon's were merely humans that had long ago cut ties with the world. They had remained true to the gods they worshipped, and as a result of their loyalty, they were bestowed with gifts, such as immortality and strength.

Granted, a union between Mortal and Amazon would be shunned by her sisters back home, but Diana was never troubled by their stances on issues...they sure weren't happy when she left for Man's world in the first place.

The true question was much more serious and terrifying...Could she live happily, knowing that she was married to a man who was fated to die before her? Could she gladly retire from her world of independence and raise a family with a mortal man?

In the far reaches of Diana's mind, she caught of glimpse of that future. One where she saw herself smiling in the very same bed she was currently lying in...She was laughing as Bruce Wayne, now with a sliver of gray hair and beard, was tenderly reaching into a crib. Diana grinned as Bruce spun the child around, joyfully tossing the small infant into the air. The child was bubbling with infectious laughter, screaming with joy as Bruce twirled in dizzying circles, sporting funny faces.

Something tight and painful snapped in Diana's chest. Her lip trembled as her eyes watered.

She could see it. She could feel it. It was so very possible...so very _real._

_Careful, Diana...careful._

It took a few seconds, but Diana eventually pushed the thoughts back, away from the present situation. Suddenly, she realized why Bruce was in that meditative state for so long, Bruce reached the same conclusion: _Too complicated right now, save Gotham, then focus on their...situation...later._

Diana's shoulders sagged and she rubbed her eyes and hair, that's definitely what he must have thought. She sighed gloomily and held up her hand, yielding.

Bruce inclined his head and his eyes twinkled playfully.

Diana could almost see the smugness in his eyes.

_I hate it when he does that, always a step ahead of you._

Bruce grin faltered as a small flash of discomfort flared up in his left bicep. He instinctively groaned and held his left arm precariously. He immediately looked at his arm, more bewildered than hurt. He eyed it carefully and then slowly began to squeeze his bicep, flexing and moving cautiously.

Diana reached to examine his shoulder, Bruce held up his hand.

"It's nothing" he grunted, gently waving her off "Just the injections doing their work"

Diana eyed him and batted away his arm, annoyed. Bruce looked at her skeptically "It's nothing" he insisted earnestly. Diana ignored him and gently examined his shoulder, her eyes alert. She trailed his muscle and scars, looking for fresh damages and/or bleeding. Amidst the scars, she found tiny marks—the needle marks. The injections. Diana cringed as she remembered the tray and Alfred, his screams and cries. Diana tapped the marks.

"What do the injections do?" she demanded.

Bruce looked at her and then back at his body, he muttered darkly, giving in to her. "They regenerate lost tissue...reinvigorate tired muscle" he said tiredly "Replenish drained resources, the three 'R's as Alfred put it."

Diana's eyes flitted back to him. "It hurts doesn't it? That's why you screamed."

Bruce looked exasperated, too drained to argue. He began a gloomy reply but stopped himself, his eyes widening with contentment. He snapped his attention on his arm, moving it in circles cautiously. A small grin broke on his face as his began to move his arm more freely, twisting and turning rapidly. He held us his arm to her, moving it without hindrance. "The pain isn't for nothing".

Diana frowned. She looked from his arm and followed the bumps and scars and bruises that decorated the surface of his skins, her eyes followed the scars down to his neck and upper chest. She grimaced at the purple and black bruises, red and pink scars.

"Why do you do it Bruce?"

Bruce looked at her steadily.

Diana reached her right hand to his chest, tracing the scars and bumps and bruises. She looked up to him.  
"Why do you do this to yourself?" she asked quietly, "Why torture yourself like this...giving up _your soul_ to a city that was willing to throw you away like, like..."

Diana trailed off at a loss for words, frustration in her voice. She bit her lip and shook her head, cupping Bruce's cheeks with both her hands, grazing rough stubble and scars. She leaned him close, their noses inches from his. Her eyes huge and full of grief, sorrowful and pleading.

Her voice was a sharp whisper.

"_They don't deserve you_."

Bruce blinked. That was a new thought. Normally he was too busy convincing the social world that Batman needed to a protector...the reverse had never even dawned on him.

_What if Gotham didn't deserve a protector?_

A decade of traveling, billions of dollars, countless nights, years of waging war against the street...hadn't he done enough for Gotham? He didn't want a "thank you", that was never the point...but he hadn't expected the city to turn its back on him.

He's given the city his life.

_And what did I receive back?_ whispered a darker part of him.

More tragedy, more hurt. A beaten body. The death of his only friend. His parent's deaths...

Bruce flinched, the mere thought of that night triggered a flood of memories.

The Opera. The Bats. The Alley...

_Bruce, don't be afraid._

As Thomas Wayne drew in his last breath, he repeated those four simple words to his only son. Bruce had heard those words only once before that night, he would never forget it either; Lying in a well, terrified and alone.

Those words haunted Bruce his entire life, throughout the years he would sit alone, searching for deeper meaning in his father's dying wish.

That night as he stared into his father's dying eyes, Bruce unknowingly made a promise. A promise that held Bruce in a vice-grip for years.

Whenever Bruce revisited that night, willfully or not, he slowly realized that he hated that day. He hated it will all his might. His anger slowly manifested over the years, snowballing into a volcanic enraged hate of the world, burying his guilt deep underneath frustration and hostility.

He hated the world because no one was there. No one rushed out of the darkness to save his parents. His mother's cries fell on deaf ears.

But no one came.

"Diana..." Bruce began quietly. He slid his arms through the sheets and underneath her waist, drawing her body against his, her warmth radiating and reassuring. Diana's attention didn't waver, she remained locked onto Bruce, her expression clouded.

"Do you know how my parents died?" Bruce asked gently.

Diana nodded her head slowly, shifting her gaze away from his eyes. "They were killed...right in front of you" she whispered.

Bruce grimaced. "Yes...they were." He lightly stroked her face, pausing to inhale deeply. "At that moment, when my Dad closed his eyes...do you know what I wanted the most?"

Diana shook her head weakly, staring down at their feet.

Bruce reached down to her chin and gently raised her eyes to his. Her eyes were a luminous pink, a few clear tears were sliding down her cheek.

Her throat felt parched. She parted her lips. "I'm sorry for bringi-"

"No" Bruce whispered, hushing her. He stroked her cheek and cleared away the tears that had slid down, pushing a strand of hair from her face. Diana watched him, her eyes huge and devastating..

Bruce swallowed "I... I wanted somebodyto make the hurt go away, to tell me everything was going to be ok..."

Bruce blinked, his eyes grew stricken. He looked away from her, the memory of that night resurfacing. Diana frowned knowingly, she slowly leaned her head onto his chest, her hand finding his. She squeezed it reassuringly, letting him deal with the memory in his own time.

After a minute, Bruce squeezed her hand back.

Diana smiled faintly as she closed her eyes and listened to the gentle soothing hum of his breathing.

They lay like that for what seemed like an eternity. Bruce's arms wrapped around her, his chin hovering over her head, absentmindedly stroking her hair. While Diana nestled into his torso, her eyes closed and peaceful, rising and falling with each of his breathes.

In the silence, Bruce's voice was a longing whisper.

"I wanted someone to let me know that I wasn't alone."

Diana cringed inwardly at his words, her body involuntarily tightening. A determined glint twinkled in her eye. She quietly rose from her seated position on his chest and released their joint hands. She moved her hands up and cupped his face, gazing into Bruce's wounded and heavy eyes.

Diana fondly rubbed the corners of his mouth, watching him tenderly with inspired eyes. In a slow arch, she leaned in and softly laid her lips against his, gradually and sensually, drawing out the heat and sweetness of his lips. Bruce at first remained impassive, but eventually dissolved into the kiss, returning it in equal tranquility. After a moment, Diana tenderly broke first and smiled, the moonlight illuminating the new glint in her eye.

"You are not alone."

Bruce blinked. In a truly rare moment, Bruce Wayne was at a loss for words. He could only stare at Diana, marveling at the woman in front of him. Her entire being radiated a silent fire of reassurance that began to spread through him, scorching away his regret and doubts...and for the first time in decades, a lost and dilapidated feeling in him returned. Bruce mentally gasped out of innate surprise as something he hadn't felt since he lay at the bottom of the well, paralyzed from bone-chilling fear, reappeared within him.

Bruce remembered it clearly.

He lay in the wet and dirty mud of what seemed like a never ending vertical hell, defeated and afraid. _Things _came out of the dark hole beside him, scratching and attacking him. After it was over, he prayed incessantly up at the small circle of sky above, the dark flying monster's agonizing screeches echoing numbingly in his mind.

After what seemed like hours, a tiny speck of black materialized amidst the blue haze, small enough to appear as a trick of the mind to Bruce. He bitterly laughed it off as a hallucination from his time in the pit, but at the sight of the tiny speck, something stirred within Bruce, something slowly limped into perspective in the far reaches of Bruce's terrified mind...

Then the speck suddenly thickened, gaining mass and shape. Bruce's eyes widened and so did the emotion, like a knee-jerk reaction. As the speck began to lower, the stirring in Bruce gained speed, its limp lurched to a walk. Bruce's hands trembled as the speck grew larger and larger, its black mass beginning to give way to different shades and colors. The stirring's within Bruce leaped forward at the black mass, sprinting and dashing with new energy.

As the black mass came into clearer view, it lost its grandeur and myth...instead, it became a man with sharp features and warm smile, calling out gently to Bruce...a voice that would beautifully haunt Bruce for the rest of his life.

_Bruce, don't be afraid_.

The stirring soared at this voice. It Galloped and roared throughout Bruce's heart, fueling him with a sense of warmth and clarity in a place where darkness and terror ruled.

_Hope._

Bruce smiled bitter-sweetly at the memory. He started to reply, but the words caught in his throat, he caught of glimpse of the new glint in Diana's eye. It was an odd shape, familiar somehow. Bruce's mouth hung slightly opened in disbelief, he slowly turned around and faced the open window which the moonlight had entered.

Slowly, his open mouth stretched into a sly grin.

"Prove it." he stated simply, staring out the window.

Diana arched her eyebrow at his back. "_What?"_

Bruce turned back from the window, grinning widely. He looked at her steadily and then nudged behind him. Diana looked out the window and looked in the sky, only moon-light, the stars and the Bat-signal, all shining proudly at night...

Diana looked back to Bruce, her expression confused.

"What am I supposed to see that's different?"

Bruce look offended, he pointed to himself.

Diana rolled her eyes.

"The _Signal? _It has been like that all nig-."

Diana's eyes widened.

Bruce nodded silently, a faint smugness in his face. He hurriedly threw the sheets off him, excitement in his voice.

"The only way for you to prove that I am indeed not alone...is to help me...try and keep up with me." Bruce said simply. He stood up and walked toward their clothes. He turned back to her, his eyes challenging.

"Up for it?"

Instead of a testy reply, Diana grinned mischievously. She slowly slid off the bed, wrapping her body in the white sheets, holding it up to her breast while her hair fell leisurely to her side. She slowly strolled up to him, the white sheets parting at her leg exotically and seductively, while behind her it trailed magnificently and elegantly...every bit the beautiful goddess. She closed the distance, smirking at a stunned and wide-eyed Bruce Wayne in front of her. She pressed herself against him, tip-toeing to whisper in his ear, her voice inhumanely soft.

"_I'm up for_..._anything"_ she breathed.

Without pausing, she fell back onto her feet, and planted a small kiss on his cheek. She made a motion to slid around him, every part of her pushing softly against him. Without looking back, she headed straight for her clothes and his shower...

...Leaving a ghostly paled, and feverish Bruce Wayne in her path.


	18. Kryptonite

**A ****few things, One: I've been receiving great reviews, truly great ones...the problem is, I can't respond to some because of the whole "guest" thing. I really recommend those who are guests to make a profile, it takes a quick second and I can answer you directly (whenever I do answer hahaha, I know I'm not the best at responding on a timely basis). "Newboy" is on some truly interesting plot points that I'm not going with. I don't know if anyone else was confused, but to clear it up, the whole "madman" thing was more symbolic and metaphorical, being that Bruce as a child, trusted the world and it betrayed him. The "madman" does represent the killer, but more of the idea of the trust that was violated. If you've seen TDK, you'll see that Rha's Al Ghul's influence isn't really there...and I'm using that as a canvas. I don't really see him in the story.**

**I'll just take this time to answer some general questions:**

**Yes, there will be an end. No it will not be the same as Nolan's TDK...that would be boring, as you've already seen that**.

**Two: I don't know yet whether I'll do a TDKR storyline...it's tempting, I'm not going to lie, there is lots in TDKR that I would mould nicely with...so hey, you never know. But the way this story ends leaves me with that same awesome feeling you get at the end of Inception (no this is not all a dream of Diana's!) and I wouldn't want to ruin that. **

**Three: I'm just going to let the story unfold by itself, don't ask for plot points because I really won't give them out. Believe me I know that sounds harsh, and I'm not going for that, it's just that the true joy of a plot point is fully fleshed out when you read it in the story...I would never want to ruin that for the reader!**

**Four: I think I'm aiming for 20ish chapters...maybe more maybe less. **

**Five: Go Watch Django Unchained.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Abandoned Building, Metropolis. 2.a.m**

"It is done...Harvey Dent has been released from hospital care, all evidence destroyed" said the Joker, shifting disobediently in his kneeled down position.

A lone dark figure stood in front of him, it's voice full of power and authority. The room they occupied had long ago been used, dilapidating over the years. A lone bulb was centered to the ceiling, casting down light in a cone of dim yellow-gold where the Joker knelt centered. The figure stood just out of reach of the light's ambiance, blanketing their body in shadows like a black cloak, revealing only the faint silhouette of a head to the kneeling Joker.

The Joker looked up, his face scrunched up comically as he struggled to see past the shadows and to the silhouettes' features. It was an inevitable failure. Every night for months the Joker would attempt this, but each time he would give up with a sneer of disdain as he could only make sense of a distinguished round-shaped head.

"What actions did you take to destroy the evidence?" the silhouette asked, voice deep and baritone.

The Joker licked his scarred ruby lips and visibly scratched his chin, milking his response "Well let's see, I killed a nurse and a cop...yeah that's about it."

The silhouette's knuckles popped in a clenched fist, his voice strained to remain calm. "Do you mean to tell me...that all you did, was kill _two_ people?"

The Joker was unfazed by the silhouette's reaction; he merely rubbed his chin fondly and nodded, "yeah...yep. That's all I did, I mean HAD you approved of the money for those explosives then I cou-"

The silhouette's exploded with anger, the deep voice now a merciless roar, "I CERTAINLY REMEMBER APPROVING THOSE FUNDS!"

The Joker threw his body back as if he was being blown away by a fierce wind, his arms flailing comically at his sides. After the silhouette's outburst, the Joker, still flailing backwards, looked awkwardly around at the silence, he sat up right and licked his finger, raising it dubiously in the air.

"I could have sworn there was a draft or something..."The Joker muttered oddly to himself.

The Joker turned back to the silhouette and was taken back with pleasant surprise, almost as if he had just realized the silhouette was there.

"Hey, Hey! Baldy relaaaxxx. I blew the place up. I'm just pulling your hai—I mean wig!" the Joker added sheepishly.

The silhouette visibly sighed and rubbed his right hand's fingers in front of him.  
"Very well...did you recite the exact message?"

The Joker waved his hand lazily in front of him. "_Eh_ you know, I got the gist of the thing"

The silhouette visibly strained to relax his shoulders, and inhaled tensely through his nose.

"My..._resources..." _the silhouette seethed. "...clearly stated that those were the needed words to turn Harvey Dent into...what we need him to be"

The Joker licked lips distastefully, "By the way, just who _are _these _resources_ you speak of...they don't sound like they know what they're doing."

The Silhouette chuckled, a deep hollow echo. "My resources are..._my _resources_. _They're of no concern to you, and rest assured Clown, they're extremely efficient, as you..." The silhouette paused briefly, choosing the apt words. "...as you well know, those bodily explosives were a most difficult operation..as well as that... "

The silhouette's calm composure broke, he raised a shaky hand to the round-head pate, rubbing it soothingly.

"...as well as that _item, _for _Superman_...pitiful name"

The Joker considered this, then shrugged it off with a flick of his green hair, his pasty white caked face glistening in the light. He sat up and began to walk down to the opposite side of the room, away from the silhouette and light.

"Maybe you're right baldy, but with all these cool _resources _you've got, I can't feel too sorry for you. Heck you should see the poor starving bastards back home." The Joker reached a dusty door and called over his shoulder "wait for further instruction? same ride back home?"

The silhouette nodded ever slightly.

The Joker grinned his Glasgow smiled, revealing an array of rotted yellow teeth.  
"Beats the traffic I'll tell you that... I bet you that _resource _don't come cheap...you must be loaded with doe, eh?"

The Silhouette gleamed, his mouth baring an impeccable row of pearly white teeth.

"Money is Power, Clown...so yes. Loaded Indeed."

* * *

**Gotham City, Wayne Manor – 2 a.m.**

Diana turned off the light as she exited the shower-room door, refreshed and readily dressed for the night. The remnant hot steam wafted out all sides of her, white tendrils whispering across her skin and vanishing in the dark aura of the Master Bedroom.

Diana frowned as she finished drying out her hair, looking around the room with mild interest. It was eerily clean. The massive bed looked fit for a king; sheets immaculately tightened and pressed, while the marble white pillows fully plush and plump. It was as if an all-seeing Iron had visited the room; all crisp corners and not a wrinkle in sight.

"Bruce?" she called out.

Nothing. Diana scrunched her nose in distaste, _always the theatrical, that man_.

In the silence, Diana could make out the faint sound of running water coming from the bronze polished wooden door that they had stumbled viciously through earlier. Diana turned a shade of pink at the memory,_ a lifetime ago. _

She walked up to the door, the sound of the water increasing. Without any other leads, she reached for the handle and quietly slipped out of the room, grinning at the similar morally questionable entrance into the Manor a few hours prior. Outside, she was treated to the same labyrinth of doors and corners from before, but the empty and desolate feeling from hours earlier wasn't present. The hollow hallways and antique doors didn't emit the cold and deserted mausoleum feel as they did when she first arrived, sure the house _felt _empty...but it wasn't a deserted and haunted empty, it was an exciting vacancy, proud new homeowners gazing fondly at their new purchase.

Diana snorted, _one night with Bruce Wayne and the house is already warming up to me._

She followed the sound running water down the marble floors, leading her through smaller corridors and openings that led into larger hallways...it oddly felt like she was venturing through the human body, crawling through crevice capillaries and into the larger artery channels.

She turned on what seemed the hundredth corner and instantly transported from Human body architecture, to stadium corridor. She was standing at the far end of a vast polished marble white hall that led into an atrium that was cast in white light from the glass ceiling overhead. The hallway was decorated uniformly by tiered candlestick, brass sculptures, and stoic steel knights - each object positioned to mirror its counterpart on the opposite wall.

A wide violet carpet streaked in front of her, perfectly dissecting along the tiled floor and leading to the entrance of the atrium, where it divided around a massive perfect circle of railing that overlooked a lower level, and where a colossal crystal chandelier hung above in dead center. Sensing that she must have hit one of the major routes in the Mansion, she confidently pressed forward, the increased sound of running water encouraging her approach.

Diana found herself involuntarily leaning forward, her ears picking up something hidden underneath the _whooshing _of the water—a soft vibrating drone. She hardened her focus , isolating the noise from the gargling water.

As she descended down the hall, the drone morphed into a grandfatherly hum, something that could have been played around a campfire or lulled a baby to sleep. Diana found herself dreamily humming along, the broad and melancholic buzz infectious as it was beautiful. She stepped past a silver knight and slowly entered the atrium, entering the silver pale of the moonlight.

Immediately, her gaze was drawn up at the magnetic allure of the grand glass ceiling. The clarity was eerily transparent that you might as well have been outside, only the ceiling went one step further; it seemed to magnify the stars and moon on its own, bringing them up with crystallized precision - an astronomer's dream. With a small effort, Diana brought her gaze back to the room, the overwhelming aura of the place intensified by the chandelier; it captured the moonlight and radiated it jarringly around the room, a bizarre mix of blue and white hues.

Looking around the dream-like chamber, Diana spotted a row of giant paintings over on the far left side of the room and slowly drifted over, taking little time to admire the other ornate displays along the way.

Arriving at the paintings, she discovered to her interest that it was actually a line of vast and grand portraits, all of them with a subheading that bared the same variation of the name: **WAYNE**. Judging from the style and decorum in each portrait, Diana understood how far Bruce could trail his lineage; his family extended into the centuries, every ancestor of wealth and power. Diana slowly walked beside the row of paintings, from left to right the portraits traveled through time, each person reflecting the ensuing era in history.

Diana wasn't entirely familiar with Mortal Man's historical power structures, but she could see that the Wayne Family held authority and supremacy, regardless of the form of government. Their stances of glory and ascendancy were identical to the statutes and monuments of Gods that Themyscira proudly pledged loyalty to.

She continued down the lineage, scowling at the extravagant jewels and furs that the Wayne Family tree prided themselves on. Their noses in the air, fingertips extended elegantly, white light falling vainly on their faces, illuminating their _cherished prestige_...it all reeked of glorified gluttony and power.

Diana sneered, she could almost hear their haughty voices. _Mortal Men and their hubris. _

"A less than honourable part of history, I'm afraid" said a quiet voice behind her.

Diana whirled around, Alfred stood astutely in front of her, dressed in a charcoal grey suit with a white tie, wringing his buffeted aged hands in a towel. His beady white eyes melancholic, fixed upon the portraits.

Diana blinked, "The humming and running water was you?"

Alfred smiled pleasantly, "It has been long since any happiness has entered the Manor, I was simply relishing it during an acquired porcelain cleansing hobby of mine."

"Washing dishes has become your hobby?" Diana asked, smirking.

Alfred held his hand to heart and bowed deeply, "Please excuse an old man's therapeutic hobby, Your Highness"

Diana reddened, generally she was more annoyed than anything when addressed as royalty, but Alfred committed with such regality and sincerity that she couldn't help but feel her face heat up.

Diana flushed and held up a pacifying hand, "Please Alfred, you don't need to bow, and Diana is fine"

Alfred scoffed. "Please your Highness, unlike the poor souls of America, I was blessed to be born and raised with Great Britain as my mother and nurturer." Alfred eloquently spoke, pride ringing in his British accent. "It will be only upon my deathbed that a British Gent fails to uphold her honour by failing to recognize any member of Royalty, regardless of Country or State."

Diana never felt more embarrassed, and yet the natural and moving power of Alfred's insistence stirred something deep within her, she _felt_ worthy of such a title.

Diana smiled sheepishly, she held her hand to her heart, feigning embarrassment and defeat, and bowed her head in return. "Forgive me, Alfred, I did not mean to infringe...But please, it makes me feel more at home to be called 'Diana' or 'Ms. Prince' "

Alfred inclined his head, "As you wish m'lady"

Diana threw her hands to the air in mock exasperation, grinning widely. She wondered if Bruce's 'royal' parents ever dealt with something similar.

"Is Bruce descendant from Royalty?" she inquired quietly, nodding to the portraits.

Alfred shook his head, "Only Duke's and Duchesses...but not royalty."

"You wouldn't know from the way they dressed. _Furs_, honestly..." Diana muttered darkly.

Alfred smiled understandingly, he folded his hands behind him and turned to the portraits, a wistful reverence in his eyes.

Diana didn't miss it, she turned to him coolly.

"You approve?" she asked, repugnant.

Alfred shook his head faintly, "You misunderstand me, I do not approve of their pompous display of wealth, but I approve of William Wayne's actions."

"William Wayne?" Diana asked perplexed, her hostility fading.

Alfred pointed down to the far end of the wall, beckoning her over. Diana followed him as he steadily passed along the portraits, offering interesting trivia of the lineage.

"Hugh Wayne, established Wayne Enterprises, of course back then it was The Wayne Steel Company...Elliot Wayne, died at 32, in a bar fight of all things, can you imagine?!...Isaac Wayne, his brother died from a bout of pneumonia two and half decades before the Civil War, he built this Manor in his depression, 'course back then it was just a giant plot of land...James Wayne, he was an active supporter of the North during the Civil War, even went as far as becoming a prominent member of the Underground Railroad he-

"_Underground _What?" Diana asked bewildered.

Alfred chuckled, "My apologies, the _Underground Railroad_ was a term for the secret and highly illegal transportation of Slaves from the Southern states to the North"

Diana frowned, "Why was it illegal? Better yet, why were there slaves in the first place?"

Alfred's smiled diminished, his hearty voice turned solemn. "Humanity can be as cruel as it can be kind, I'm afraid...here we are"

Diana looked to the portrait they stopped at and immediately recognized that this Wayne Portrait was drastically different than the others.

_World War II Different._

It wasn't a painting; it was a picture that could have doubled as an old Caribbean War Movie Poster. The grainy image was that of the left profile of a man with one leg planted astutely on a beach rock, leaning forward with his arm stretched out in front of him, his eyes alight and his mouth stretched in a hearty yell while pointing determinedly ahead with a long cavalry saber. In the background the small silhouettes of battle ships could be seen on the horizon, while smaller boats crashed upon the beachfront, troops jumping out from them and surging forward in the direction of the man's sword.

The troops all dressed in the standard uniform of WWII; black combat boots followed by the all green ensemble of rugged baggy pants and short trench coat, topped by a dome helmet. Grenades and canteens jangled as they all charged into the wild grass and tree line, their firearms heroically raised in front of them, spearheading the charge.

William Wayne wore something completely different.

His once magnificent Royal Blue Officer Coat fell to his knees, various holes and tears proudly displayed on the shoulder blades. Draped around his neck was his golden thread stole, now burnt off at the left breast, while the right sided draped loosely next to the vertical column of grand gold buttons of the outer seam...except only three buttons remained; the rest evidently torn off, leaving behind small puffs of thread . His cuffs, what once must have been beautifully braided with four ornate silver cufflinks, were now a shredded amalgamation of thread and charcoaled silver. His pant legs could have doubled as a homeless man's wardrobe...torn and smudged with dirt, sand, and an eerie stain of blood. The greatest oddity of the image however...was William Wayne's expression.

Despite his tarnished clothing, William Wayne stood stoic, his cavalry sword reflecting the brilliant sun of the battle.

"Commander William Wayne" Alfred exclaimed proudly, " Served on the USS _Murceilago _during World War II, oversaw warships for the Allied invasion of Normandy, and permanently injured during the Battle of Okinawa, this picture was taken at that battle—earning him a_ Distinguished Flying Cross_ for his actions. He later served in England aboard the HMS _Divinity_, participating in the rebuilding effort of Europe."

Diana looked up to the profile of William Wayne with new light, she was familiar with the _Flying Cross- _a major military award, Steve himself had ab-

A pang of guilt shot trough Diana, paralyzing her for a split-second. The world became a cacophonous blur of memories that rose to a tide, threatening to flood her with strangling guilt. She instinctively planted a foot behind her, immediately steadying her thoughts. Bruce's voice echoed in her head. _We'll figure it out after all this is done. _

Diana grit her teeth, pushing the tide back, placing it far back in her head. _Later...we'll figure it out later_.

She turned to Alfred, and continued with a small effort.

"What did he do to earn _the Cross_?"

If Alfred noticed her inner turmoil, he cheerily ignored it.

"He rammed his cruiser into another ship" he stated casually, as if it was a normal occurrence. "...one that was three times larger and now serves as housing for an array of marine-life."

Diana smiled doubtfully. "Um...why does it do that?"

Alfred cocked his head, the way a teacher would when addressing a small child, "Because it currently resides on the ocean floor."

Diana blinked, "Oh".

Clearly, Bruce wasn't the only Wayne with a lion's courage, and William didn't come off to her as arrogant or egotistical as his predecessors did. To the contrary he looked every bit as valiant and heroic as Alfred made him out to be, this was no portrait where he could mold himself into a pretentiousness heroic figure, this was a battle-scene—where true emotions and courage were revealed.

And William Wayne looked like he was having the time of his life.

The fierce light his eyes itched with familiarity, she could only think of one other person who had the same determined gaze in battle. Focusing on William's features, she could make out the faint outlines of Bruce in him; razor sharp cheekbones, hazel eyes. But the similarity stopped there, William's nose and chin were round and boyish, not narrowed and strong like Bruce.

"What did he do that you approve of?" Diana asked curiously.

Alfred's grin widened. "Aside from adopting me?"

Diana stared blankly at him..

"Wait...wait..." she sputtered, slowly ingesting the infuriatingly simple information. "...William adopted you, he's your fathe—_you're Bruce's Uncle_!?"

Alfred chuckled, unable to resist. "Not officially, but you have the gist of it. During William's stay in England his line of work resided in the most damaged parts of the Country. He found me as an infant in an impoverished street that had greatly suffered by the German bombers. He took me in and raised me for the better part of 5 years...unfortunately his wife became ill and he was forced to leave back to the States."

Diana frowned. "He left you?"

Alfred's eyes twinkled. "Quite the opposite. I found an uncle of mine the year before he left...it was an awkward period, torn between my blood relatives and the man who had took me in and called me Son. He had asked me to come with him to the States, but I..." Alfred's eyes saddened, he smiled bitterly. "My Uncle was dying, and he was the only connection to my real family. I stayed in England and spent the better part of Decade traveling Europe, looking for my birth parents."

"Did you ever find them?"

Alfred shrugged, "Half. My mother was killed during the Bombings, and my father was out fighting the Germans. I found him in France, at a small café in Florence" Alfred sighed fondly, his eyes wistful. "He spent every penny he had looking for me."

Diana smiled warmly, grateful for a happy ending in a seemingly dark and tortured family as the Wayne's. She turned back to the portrait. "What happened to William?"

Alfred snapped out of the memory of his father and sighed, his eyes misty as he looked back up at William, "He returned to the States and remained there, even after his wife recuperated. I kept in touch with him over the years, but after Thomas was born, and I reconnected with my father...we sort of lost contact."

"Oh...Then how did you become the Butler?"

Alfred pointed again to William. "Even though I lost contact with him, I never forgot what he did for me. I joined the British service in honor of the man who took me in...20 years later, I'm a retired soldier with a bad knee, and Thomas Wayne enters SAS headquarters in England to deliver a piece of his recently deceased Father's will."

"I'm sorry to hear that"

Alfred casually waved it off. "Nothing to worry about My Dear, I only fond memories of the man. Anyway, a young Thomas Wayne comes in, maybe 20 years my junior, and delivers to me a small envelope that contains the documents to a 20 million dollar bank-account in my name"

Diana whistled.

Alfred nodded approvingly, "Indeed. So I say to Thomas, 'I can't possibly take your Father's money, it isn't right!?' To which Thomas replies to me 'judging by the stories he told me, he was your father as well..._mate_!" Alfred laughed, wiping a small tear from his beady eye.

Diana couldn't resist, much like his soft vibrant hum, his laugh was too infectious. She grinned and pushed further. "Is that why you came down to Gotham?"

."Absolutely, I came down to pay my respects to the man who had given me a shot at life, and of course, I adamantly refused the money. Thomas humorously offered me the job of serving his Family as a means to _earn_ the money. At first I laughed it off as well, but it dawned to me that nothing would be more pleasing than that. I didn't want to return to England as an out-of-work veteran, wandering aimlessly around the parks and alleys. And I was forever in the debt of the Wayne family, I asked Thomas for the job and I started the very next day." Alfred finished happily. "It'll be 35 years next July."

A warm silence filtered in the room as Alfred peacefully closed his eyes, no doubt returning to memories of his adopted father. Diana glanced back down the row of portraits that they crossed, her eyebrows furrowed as something still eluded her.

To her side Alfred remained serenely upright, his hands formally behind him. With his eyes still peacefully closed, he spoke into the quiet room with an eerie awareness, "And yet my dear...I still haven't answered your question have I?"

Diana warily turned back to him, hesitating.

Alfred waved it off, springing out of his contemplative state with cheery exuberance. "No worries, the explanation isn't terribly complicated." He stretched his arms ceremonially to his sides, encasing the entire row of portraits.

"All this" he began, "was to be burned or buried somewhere in the grounds by Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father, who was greatly ashamed that he descended from such gluttonous heritage."

Diana nodded intently.

"William Wayne's dying wish, however, was that the portraits remain untouched."

Diana's face scrunched in distaste. "Wait but why-"

Alfred wagged a finger. "Patience, m'lady" he assured, eyes twinkling again.

Diana mentally sighed, _another 'One step ahead of you' moment._

Alfred never looked younger, glee radiating from his presence "Forgive an Old man's delight to remain elusive. As you can see" Alfred began seriously, nodding to William's picture, "William wasn't the average Wayne, he was not keen on the lavish balls and wealth of his family. The greatest example is his military service, he could have bribed his way out of the draft, as many wealthy families did then. _But..." _ Alfred rang proudly, a touch of affection in his voice "...William was not one for the coward's way out. He chose to serve his country."

Alfred pointed to the next portrait, "William told his only son, Thomas, that he should never destroy or tamper with the portraits...they should be proudly displayed... over the centuries The Wayne Family Legacy had fallen very low in their abuse of wealth in power. William was to restore it, and the portraits were to be a reminder of the Hubris and Greed that they descended from, and to learn from it."

Alfred finished with a loving sigh. After a satisfied minute, Alfred's eyes furrowed in concentration, as if recalling a faint memory. Licking his lips cheerfully, he cleared his throat and immediately began to recite from memory.

A rather interesting memory.

"_Quare nos, cadere? Ut possimus discere ad detrahendum nos ipsos ascendit." _

Diana turned to Alfred, her eyes wild. "_What!?"_

But her question fell on deaf ears. Alfred paying no attention to her bewildered expression, bowed deeply then ceremonially folded his arms behind him, and walked away.

As he disappeared into the darkness, the soft and soothing humming filled the room again.

Diana stared dumbfounded at Alfred's exit, her mouth gaped with sheer bafflement. Snorting in disbelief, she marched over to the portrait Alfred indicated, as she guessed, the next progression was Thomas Wayne's portrait. Standing in front of Thomas, she was a little disappointed that it wasn't a blazing image of epic scale like William's...it was rather bland.

Thomas wore a plain white lab coat while he sat pleasantly on a bronze wooden trip-pod stool, his arms folded neatly on his lap and smiling warmly out of the frame. Diana almost did a double-take, if she hadn't known better, she could have sworn it was Bruce who was smiling at her. They could have passed for identical twins, their eyes, chin, cheeks, and jaw so indistinguishable. The only real difference was that Bruce favored his jet black hair styled back, while Thomas Wayne sported his distinguished salt-and-pepper hair parted down the left—he looked like a Black and White movie star.

A small glint of writing beneath the portrait caught her eye. Leaning forward she discovered that inscribed on the plaque beneath Thomas Wayne's portrait was something different than his ancestor's. As the norm, the name **Wayne **shone proudly, but unlike the other portraits, there was a small incision of clustered foreign characters. To Diana's amazement, it was the same make and shape of the odd characters that were inscribed on the battered stethoscope in the medical room. Her eyes flickered with excitement as she remembered the only two letters that she could recognize from the stethoscope's plaque.

_T.W._

Diana slowly returned up to Thomas Wayne's smile, now with coming off as a small encouraging grin.

_Thomas Wayne...Dr. Thomas Wayne!_

Diana's eyes widened with excitement, she leaned in closer, scrutinizing over the frame and detail for some sort of answer or key to the foreign language.

To her right, a rough voice emitted from the darkness.

"_Latin_, Princess. The Language of Doctors"

Diana paused for a brief second, then immediately rolled her eyes. First Alfred, then William, now Bruce.

Obviously she didn't receive the Wayne _theatrical appearance _memo_._

She turned her head to the side, glancing over at the darkness that hovered mirthfully out of range from the moonlight. The Dark Knight earned his namesake, blending effortlessly with the shadows, an imperceptible void in the darkness until his silhouette materialized under the shafts of incandescent white light. He slowly glided forward, his armor shimmering with a glossy pale glow— Diana raised her brows instinctively, he had on a new suit.

Gone was the honed and dense exoskeleton that guarded every inch of Batman's body, in its place was a segmented and more agile defense. The suit was covered in distinctive threadlike fibers that ran underneath like a second skin, outlining the elevated plates of armor that were now separated. The stomach region was the greatest example of this: instead of an entire layered sheet of armor, the sheet was divided into eight hardened plates that were directly positioned over the eight individual abdominals, one plate to a muscle, each the corresponding muscles' unique shape and mold. Running underneath was the threading that was exposed in between the narrow channels created by the isolated plates— a surprising aesthetically pleasing mixture of city grid and jigsaw puzzle.

His shoulder pauldrons were uninterrupted thin shells of black shielding, overlapping down to mid bicep where the hardened plates once more divided between the hinge joint of his elbow and the narrow gaps of the Gauntlets. Even the belt was a different mold, a gold-bronze mesh of square slots that overlapped into each other, a faint sheen on them that shimmered a metallic hue.

The Cowl saw the biggest over-haul.

The normal long and sleek neck was completely gone, replaced by a column of thin ribbed filaments that closely hugged around the circumference of his throat, connected down to the bodysuit rather than the cowl itself. The cowl's features reflected a pool of dark emotions; angst quietly lurked underneath the ripples of the eye sockets, while the brows were slanted forward in fierce determination.

Diana let out a low-pitched whistle. "You clean up good."

Batman strode forward, tilting his head in acknowledgment—to anyone who truly knew the Batman and his stoic demeanor, he might as well have been taking a bow.

Diana stood back from the portrait, her expression dubious.

"_Latin?"_

Batman walked up to her side, his eyes fixed pensively up at his father's portrait. Maybe it was the moon, but Diana was sure she saw a small flicker in his eyes, something so fleeting that she wouldn't have noticed had she not been so focused on Bruce.

Diana smiled warmly. "He would have been proud of you."

"I'd like to think so..." Batman hoarsely agreed, his eyes intently fixed on the painting before turning back to her, pointing down to the plaque.

"Latin." Batman quietly explained. "Once a universal language of the Old World, now obsolete, used only by scientists and doctors in their research." He pointed back up to the portrait, "My father liked to speak to my mother in Latin whenever they didn't want to be heard in a public place...or whenever he didn't want me eavesdropping."

"Are you fluent?"

"Alfred taught me a few years after" Batman stated simply.

"After wha-"

Diana held her hand over her mouth in shock, her eyes wide.

"Oh Bruce I'm so _sorry_ I didn't kno-"

Batman was unfazed, he gently laid a gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Would you like to know what it means?" he asked quietly.

Diana glimpsed over at his hand, it's cold and rough gloved surface felt oddly reassuring. She quickly tried to apologize again, but was silenced as Batman gently squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him feebly, wanting him to be angry with her. He merely stared at her, impassive and composed.

She slumped and looked down to the floor, sighing bitterly. "Very much so."

"Why do we fall?"

Diana looked up at him puzzled, certain she misheard him. "Er—what?"

"—So that we can learn to pick ourselves up."

"_Wait—What?"_

Batman then did something that she wouldn't have ever believed possible from The Dark Knight.

He chuckled. _Laughed_ even.

Diana's knuckles popped.

"That's it!" she bellowed. "I am _sick_ and _tired _of being left out of the loop! First it was your magic bed, then your butler—or Uncle-_whatever! _Then your World War II Grandpa, and now it's this _stupid_ _Latin phrase_ that every loves to flaunt!

Diana walked up to Batman's nose and glared into his face.

"And if I don't start getting some answers, I'm going to throw you off the highest mountain that I can find!"

Batman calmly faced the seething Amazon Princess in front of him. Frowning, he cocked his head and stared at her fierce gaze with a small interest.

"...but I already told you" he countered, mystified.

Diana pulled at her hair infuriated, "For _Hera Sake _can't you just stop with the mysticism, for _one second_!?"

Batman gently shook his head, her hostility unable to penetrate past his shadowed presence.

"Diana..._why do we fall?_" he asked patiently once more.

"_Bruce, _what on Earth are you rambling on ab- Oh..."

Batman nodded his head approvingly, "_So that we learn to-"_

"-_pick ourselves up" _Diana finished grumpily, shaking her head. "You love doing that, don't you?"

Batman's mouth twitched.

Diana rolled her eyes, waving him off. "Of course you do."

Batman pointed over to a nearby racked wall, at its base a faint outline could me made in the dark, "C'mon, near that bookcase is something I want to show you."

Diana arched her eyebrows, "You want me to follow a Tall and Scary man into a dark secluded corner?

The shadowed angst and terror that was Batman's mask managed to look exasperated.

Diana batted her eye-lashes and shrugged coyly, "Girl can't help herself..."

Batman's eyes turned an odd white as he visibly rolled his eyes and turned around, striding toward the wall.

Diana's smile faltered at the sight of his back, now _sans_ billowing cloth.

"Hey...where's your cape?"

Batman glanced over his shoulder and pointed to a small black wrapped pack that could have easily been mistaken as an extension of his armor.

Diana grinned in surprised approval, "_And _you can _turn _your head? What else are you hiding under that belt?"

Batman continued to stare plainly at her from over his shoulder, he tilted his head slightly, as if pondering something...then without hesitating he raised his right arm in front of him in an L shaped flex, and twisted his wrist. The three black gauntlets that protruded from his arm shot out into the darkness with blazing speed, whipping audibly in the air until, with a violent snap of wood, they wedged into the far opposite side of the atrium.

Diana stared blankly at the seemingly infinite darkness where the gauntlets readily disappeared in, slowly turning back to Batman. He stared at her, again void of emotions...but he radiated smug satisfaction.

Diana couldn't help it, she started chuckling, rising to a rich warm laugh. A tingling sensation fluttered in Batman's stomach.

She subsided and smiled radiantly at Batman, her eyes reflective. "You always were elusive and secretive...but you always deliver, don't you?"

Batman stared at her, the tingling sensation going into overdrive at her smile.

He didn't let it show, with a stern face, he nodded over to the wall.

Diana followed him into the dark, the faint outline slowly developing into a wide four- sided square structure. Diana mulled it over, it could have been a television, table, couch—

"_Piano?" _she blurted, stopping a yard from the bookcase to gawk as the figure coalesced into the familiar grand keyboard and wide frame "I take back what I said about you delivering...Are we going to a _concerto_?"

Batman continued silently past her and pressed down on what looked like three random keys, their distinctive notes clashing jarringly in the silence.

The ringing of the notes fainted into the silence as Batman turned to her, his voice crisp.

"_Different Venue"_

On cue, a hiss of gas emanated from the bookcase as an entire section protruded outward, slowly sliding over the surface of an adjacent rack, revealing a miner's elevator inside.

Diana eyes gleamed with excitement, completely unfazed by the secret entrance. "This is it, isn't it? Your hide-out? The _Batcave?"_

With a small smile, Batman nodded forward.

"After you."

* * *

"You know..." Diana said, staring up at the cavernous ceiling, where amongst the colossal stone stalactites, thousands of Bats nested and fluttered around. "...call me crazy, but I'm still not sure on where the **Bat **motif comes from".

Batman snorted faintly as he went over to the massive ring of machines at the center of the cave. Computers, Monitors, Hard-Drives, Surveillance, etc...it was an Electronic goldmine. At brink of the ring, where every machine was slightly angled toward, an enormous computer screen was blazing with data—and where a lanky and properly dressed Butler was hunched over, typing determinedly into the keyboard.

"How'd he get in here?" Diana asked, mostly to herself.

"The status and upkeep of Wayne Manor is my responsibility, M'lady" Alfred called over from the ring, his voice echoing, "There is not a secret entrance that I am not aware of".

Diana blushed, she hadn't expected him to hear her.

Batman walked up to Alfred, "What do the tests read?"

Alfred typed in a prompt, and the screen blazed to life with images and data of a green crystal.

Diana immediately recongized it, _Kryptonite_.

"It was as you predicted sir" Alfred reported shrewdly "I'm afraid the crumbs were part of a larger piece, one which could be traced to a subsidiary of _Volucris Inc_...which was just bought out by _Vespertilio Industries_."

Batman hissed. "_Damn_...What about the bodies?"

Alfred shook his head, "No sign of incisions of any kind, meaning that they would have had to be placed under a tube by a trained physician like a cosmetic surgeon, which would cost hundreds of thousands dollars that—"

"—couldn't be traced back to the mob." Batman finished irritably, driving his leg furiously into a nearby machine. "Dammit, Alfred..."

Diana slowly stepped up to Batman, her expression mystified.  
"Wait, what's going on?—Why are you researching kryptonite?"

Batman drifted off to another machine, seething incoherently.

Diana turned to Alfred, "Well?"

Alfred looked behind her at his charge's muttering and turned back to her with a heavy sigh.

"M'lady...do you recall the Joker's breakout?"

Diana nodded, remembering her shocked expression when she heard the Joker got the better of Superman.

Alfred pointed to the screen. "Well, you cannot just buy Kryptonite at your local grocery store...the few amounts in existence are owned by prestigious companies worldwide, and all but one of those companies were bought out two years ago by an extension of Wayne Enterprises, in an effort to prevent the pieces from where they might be susceptible to Superman's enemies. Even the company that we couldn't buy out_, Volucris Inc, _was under the threat that if they publicized their inventory of Kryptonite, we'd release very incriminating and bankrupt-capable evidence of ignoring industry and carbon-footprint laws. Simply put, it should be literally impossible to acquire Kryptonite on Earth without our knowledge"

Diana frowned, "Alright, but if that's true, how did The Joker get his hands on it?"

"Luthor" Alfred stated gravely.

"Luthor?" Diana repeated. "I thought you said tha—"

"_Luthor, _Princess...Lex Luthor" Batman growled behind her, striding to the screen. "Luthor is aiding the Joker."

Diana didn't follow. "But Luthor can't have access to Kryptonite. Alfred said it himself! You guys have all the Kryptonite under your watch. _It's impossible_"

Batman typed steadfastly into the screen, "We do have them all under our watch, including _Volucris Inc. _What we DON'T have under out watch is their trading stocks, because they had always refused our ridiculously high-offers, we assumed it was out of pride that they didn't want to sell."

Batman brought up an image to the screen, the financial section of _Forbes. _

"...And according to the stocks of yesterday," seethed Batman "_Volucris Inc. _recently finalized the deal to be bought out by _Vespertilio Industries."_

Diana stared at the article, _Volucris Inc's_ CEO Jonathon Dubois, a short European man, was all smiles, grinning from ear to ear while posing for the cameras, shaking the hand of _Vespertilio Industries'_ CEO Walter Bojes, a tall African-Middle Eastern gentleman.

Diana sighed, "I don't understand, even though it's bad that _Volucris _sold out, Lex Luther doesn't run _Vespertilio Industries, _and he sure isn't Walter Bojes in disguise"

Batman grimaced, typing once more into the screen "You're right, Walter Bojes isn't Lex Luthor in disguise, and Lex Luthor definitely doesn't run _Vespertilio Industries..."_

Batman clicked a final key, and brought up another article: dated 1 year prior. Diana read the print, her stomach sinking as she read the giant letters: _**Luthor Incorp dives into steel-construction game and "vows to save jobs" by purchasing bankrupt steel companies; Bronx Inc , Hardy Bros., and **_

Diana slumped into a nearby chair when she read the last company.

_**Vespertilio Industries.**_

Batman spat. "...He _OWNS_ it".


	19. Reparations

_Sorry it has taken me awhile to update, but the ending is a bit tricky and I've got to make sure it is perfect. I want to thank everyone who has accompanied this story so far, and to those who are just jumping on, welcome!_

Please, Read and Review, but most of all, Enjoy!

* * *

**Gotham City – Prewitt Building.**

Thomas Schiff hated elevators. It wasn't that he was claustrophobic, just that he was certified insane. All his life, Schiff had been plagued by demented dreams, festering fantasies, and stuttering speeches. Diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia at age 6, Schiff had wandered the United States, mental hospital to mental hospital to Mental Asylum, culminating in the mother of all Asylums: _Arkham_. When the Warden at Arkham had received his file, he personally told Schiff that he'd "fit right in."

It was this thought of Arkham that had Schiff terrified, after spending 3 years in Dr. Jonathon Crane's "special treatment", Schiff was—for the first time in his mental defective life—absolutely sure of something: **Not Going Back To Arkham**.

Schiff looked over his clothing, he was being paranoid of course. Nobody would even suspect that a man dressed in Police clothes was mentally unstable, matter of fact, if the clothes he was wearing were any indication, _he _was the person people called to send the crazies back to Arkham...

_Arkham..._

Schiff instinctively tightened his grip on the parcel in his hands. He didn't want to go back, and as long as he delivered this parcel to the Boss, he would be free to wander to his choosing...better off than the poor man he saw beheaded hours earlier.

_Ding!_

Schiff looked at the floor number. He gulped. He was here.

The elevator door opened, and Schiff entered the dark room. Muffled groans and moans could be heard all around him, twisting and churning bodies and muffling and screaming and...

Schiff closed his eyes and breathed easily. "They're not really there... They're not really there..."

A deep voice boomed throughout the room. "_Quiet!_"

Schiff held his breath, and the noises around him died out immediately. More quiet.

"_Well?_" boomed the same voice.

A small snarl of laughter fluttered through the room. "He means _you_ buddy-boy!" Schiff let out a small whimper of relief, The Joker was here; his..._employer_.

The Joker chuckled. "...Well? Did our favorite charred Lawyer give up the goodies?"

With a weak nod, Schiff held out the parcel in his hands, unsure to _whom_ or _how_ to present the parcel. He couldn't _see_ anything in this dark...as he squinted he could hear footsteps...growing louder and drawing near...

A purple gloved hand snapped out of the darkness, snatching the parcel from Schiff's hands. Schiff screamed, tripping on his feet, and flailing his arms pathetically he sailed through what seemed infinite darkness. With a loud thud he hit the ground and landed harshly on his stomach, the cold granite pressing unforgiving against his cheek.

In the steady silence, disrupted only by Schiff's faint whimpers, the sounds of ripping paper could be heard...then a deep, satisfactory sigh.

"Excellent. Dent kept his word, as promised."

"What a relief, I thought for a moment he might _burn _us, and not show up" sniggered The Joker, "Heh-eh-heh...yeesh, tough crowd."

"I...I—I was promised something" said Schiff, feebly. "That is, _The Joker_ had promised me...Mr...um..." Schiff trailed off, unsure what to call the Deep Voiced-figure in the room.

The Joker laughed scornfully, scurrying over to Schiff.

"Heh-Hoo! Little Tom-Tom Schiff knows his manners, does he!? He wants to know the boss' name, does he!?" exclaimed The Joker exuberantly, "Well, I'll tell you what! Our mutual friend, Baldy over here, doesn't give out his name—_likes to keep it no- strings-attached, if you know I mean_!" he added in a false undertone, nudging Schiff slyly in the ribs. "Heh-eh! So what do you say I give him one! I've always liked the name _The Red Hood—_anyone disagree!?"

The Joker looked around expectantly, but the room stayed silent except for the distant moans and creaks from the floor.

"Good, Good! So, Baldy, I rechristen you, _The Red Hood!"_

"_The Red Hood?" _repeated the hulking figure in the middle of the room, "Did you come up with that all by yourself, Clown?"

"Heh. It's a long story."

The _Red Hood_ stood up, looking around the pitch-black room as if it were brightly lit—after all, _he_ could see perfectly in the shadows, and the next phase of the plan would prove this ability _very _advantageous. _The Red Hood_ looked down to his right, where a headless body lay motionless on the floor. He smiled fondly at that memory—the black man on his knees, begging for his life in broken English: _No p-p-please! I am very rich man! I own business! Give you very much dollar—!"_

And with a small stroke of his arm, the black man's head flew into the air, forever silenced.

The _Red Hood_ was brought back from the memory by another voice—Thomas Schiff's, who was still lying pathetically on the floor, squinting and squirming in the dark.

"_Clown." The Red Hood_ commanded.

The Joker answered in the dark cheerfully. "_Here, here_!"

The _Red Hood _pointed to Schiff, "He has exhausted his usefulness."

Schiff squealed on the floor, "Wai—Wait, Wait, I was just doin—."

"_Quiet!"_ hissed The _Red Hood._

Schiff immediately silenced and tightened into a tiny ball on the floor, staring wildly out into the pitiless darkness. He couldn't see anything, and yet the voiceseemed to emit from all sides of him, as if the very floor and air were speaking to him...

"_Naaahhhh_" sang The Joker.

The _Red Hood_ whirled around and stared at the Joker, who now was dusting himself ostentatiously, looking over his fingernails.

"_What did you say to me?" _he seethed. _"_You—you mere piece of trash! You demented and ludicrous clown whose intelligence could be measured on a _scale!"_

The Joker however, merely threw back his hair in a long exaggerated motion, looking over himself and then turning his attention to the room. His eyes had spent enough time in this room to acclimate to the dark—to make out the vague squirming black masses that were the hostages, bound together and gagged; the astute and solid silhouettes that were the thugs; a series of square and blocky shapes that were the cameras; the big rock and hulking image of his employer, and he saw Schiff squirming on the ground like a —The Joker did a double take, his gaze snapping back to _the Red Hood_ with surprise...

"...you were talking to _me_ during that Epic Poem!?"

_The Red Hood's _knuckles popped.

The Joker ran a hand through his hair and chuckled sheepishly, "Heh. Well...As much as I'd love to hear an encore, I have a 3'oclock to keep—you know how these Gotham attorneys are—ready to _flame _up with enthusiasm if you keep them waiting. Hehehehehehe-heh-eh..." The Joker looked around hopefully, but the room's occupants were either gagged or indifferent to his charms. He spat scornfully as he left the room, muttering darkly under his breath.

The _Red Hood_ stared at the Clown's departure thoughtfully, what further business did The Joker have with Dent? Could the Clown be readying something else beside the plan that they had agreed upon?

He sighed, a pity, he would have to exterminate Gotham's Clown Prince sooner than expected. No matter. He turned back to the squirming Schiff, rising gracefully from his kneeling position that contained his enormous frame.

Schiff immediately panicked as the cold granite began to shake against his cheek, the heavy and trembling footsteps signaling something colossal in size headed his way. He sat up and began pushing himself backward, squinting hopelessly in the dark, praying to see what sort of giant creature was advancing.

The footsteps grew louder and heavier, shooting dust and small debris into the air with each step. Schiff's back pressed up hard against the cold brick wall of the room—he had reached the end. He began to hyperventilate, searching wildly around him for anything to defend himself with as the thunderous march reached a deafening boom...

Without warning or sign of waning, the marching stopped. So suddenly that Schiff could still hear it echo faintly in his head, the silence of the room pressing uncomfortably against him, where every creak of wood and moan of a hostage could be discerned perfectly.

Schiff gulped and licked his lips. The Joker _had _mentioned someone, somebody he said," _who_ _would fit the bill, and believe me, it's a pretty big bill."_

"...Luthor?" he pleaded weakly, his own feeble voice seemingly loud in the silence. "Lex Luthor...please, I won't say anything..._please."_

In the merciless dark, a small light breathed to life, faintly illumining a face that was a yard away from Schiff's. It was a round shape, and from the faint ambient light, it seemed to be attached to a massive body that extended on forever.

Schiff tried to scream, but a massive hand shot out and wrapped itself around his throat. Schiff's face contorted and his eyes bulged, his legs began kicking out wildly, his hands flew up to pry the thick wrist away...

Thomas Schiff's turned blue...his grip on the massive arm slackened and his flailing legs fell to a twitch. His eyes went wide as the hulking figure's face came into view, giving Schiff a clear view onto the face of his murderer.

"L-Lutho—?"

With a sickening crack— with all the effort of pulling out a strand of hair—the massive fist twisted and pulled; tearing Thomas Schiff's head off.

Schiff's headless body spurt out blood like a geyser, remnant shreds of his neck flapped uselessly as his body sank to the floor. _The Red Hood_ turned the head over in his giant hand, admiring the look of terror forever etched on Schiff's face— then tossed it to the side where it rolled and thudded out sight.

The Joker re-entered the room with an exuberant glee, "He's coming! He's going to ma—oh...and they call _me _crazy."

_The Red Hood_ turned to his men in the room, "Burn the body, feed the bones to the dogs. Wipe the blood and—" _The Red Hood_ stopped himself, a small grin forming on his lips. "Wipe the blood, but frame the body for our _guest_, put it somewhere where he'll see it."

Dark Silhouettes immediately sprang forward, hurrying toward the body obediently.

_The Red Hood_ wiped his hands on Schiff's sleeves, "Disgusting" he spat. He turned around to the wide-eyed Joker, "He is coming?"

"Mhhhhmmm, and he isn't bringing any friends, they're all headed to Luthor Incorp."

_Luthor Incorp._

_The Red Hood_ blinked, he cocked his head as he considered The Joker's report. Why would they head there?

After a few quiet moments, it clicked. "Ah, Yes..._Luthor Incorp_..._my company_. They're headed there because of the Kryptonite purchase."

The Joker drifted toward Schiff's head, he picked it up and held it to his face, blowing raspberries and speaking in a loving mother's tone. "Who's a goodie-goodie-boy? Oh yes you are-yes you are..."

_The Red Hood_ chuckled, perhaps killing the Joker needn't be done. He would make a great evil to threaten his enemies with—and a great pet for personal amusement.

"You're sure he's coming alone?" he asked softly.

The Joker didn't turn from the dripping head in his hands, "Oh yes. He won't bring any guests. He knows that this is a one-ticket-per-person show."

"How do you know this?"

The Joker shrugged, "I just do. You see, one crazy man understands another crazy man..." the Joker licked his lips hungrily, "Matter-of-fact, they're the only ones who do...Heh-eh—"

The sound of a window breaking echoed distantly in the distance, The Joker quieted and abruptly dropped the head, where it landed with a small thud on the floor.

_The Red Hood_ leaned forward excitedly, "That is him, is it not?"

The Joker turned around, grinning from ear to ear, his yellow rotten teeth seemingly bursting with light in the dark. "Oh yes..hehehehehehe." he said, struggling to contain his glee. "Oh yes, I do believe it his him."

Finally, the final plan had begun. Years of specific movement, Months of careful plotting, of surveillance, research; it all boiled down to this night..._he was coming_.

_The Red Hood_ turned to the men behind him, "Everyone knows their duty, and if you do not heed my instructions to the letter, I can ensure that any death or punishment inflicted by our favorite Hero will be miniscule compared to the wrath I will show you. Now! To the stations, follow the orders, and above all; _Do Not Kill Him_!"

The scurry of dozens of bodies shook throughout the room, the sound of stomping boots, loaded guns, and the barks of commands and orders. Underneath them, from the floor itself they could hear the same distant thumps and shouts of more men—a massive army preparing for battle.

_The Red Hood_ turned to The Joker, his voice clear despite the loud clamor of movement surrounding them, "You know what to do, I take it?

The Joker's eyes gazed reproachfully over, "It's like you don't know me at all, Baldy!" sniffed The Joker, "I'm not one to keep the crowd waiting...After all...I AM the main star...Heheh...hehehehhehehe..."

The Joker threw his head back and erupted with painfully loud laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

_1 hour prior._

**Batcave.**

Bruce glanced over from the workbench as Diana soared out of the Waterfall, her body briefly disorienting in the reflection of the water before vanishing out of the cave.

Alfred's footsteps echoed behind him. He turned to his butler, who was striding toward him, upright and professional despite the uneasiness fixated on his face. A stack of papers in his hand, a pen in his breast-pocket, Alfred eased to a table and laid the materials down, as carefully as you would a newborn infant.

"Are you sure about this Master Wayne?" he asked anxiously.

Bruce Wayne looked down to what was in his hands—the newly upgraded Cowl. He looked it over in a final inspection for any signs of misalignment. "It'll work Alfred, the satellite will send the signal to the Cave, and then to my telemetry feed lens."

Alfred narrowed his eyes, "You know that wasn't what I was asking, Bruce."

The Cowl froze in Bruce's hands. He couldn't remember a time when Alfred forwent addressing him as _Master. _

"Alfred" Bruce said quietly, as if he had been asked this particular question hundreds of times. "I need to make sure things are properly handled in case we fail...In case I fail."

"But this is your Father's legacy sir...your legacy, your heritage, your _birthright—_"

"And it will remain in good hands." Bruce finished firmly.

Alfred ached to respond, but it would be useless, of course. Bruce's mind was adamantine as it was brilliant, there would be no convincing him to abandon an idea when he truly believed he was right. Alfred smiled half-heartedly at that thought, that stubborn characteristic is why he survived The League of Shadow's training, and it is why he survived the far greater challenge of Gotham's Nights.

Deep down inside, buried beneath the unconditional love he felt for Bruce, Alfred also suspected that Bruce survived the very torment of his parent's deaths because of this particular trait.

Alfred cleared his throat, and nodded lightly toward the table. "All that is required is your signatures, sir"

Bruce gently laid the cowl on the workbench, and walked over to Alfred, his boots echoing faintly against the crashing waterfall. He looked down at the papers, and then up back up at his Butler.

"This is only a back-up, Alfred." he reassured.

Alfred smiled weakly, "Of Course sir, Of Course. Here's the pen."

Bruce hunched over the papers, and looked down at the black ink. For a brief moment, Bruce hesitated...Was he doing the right thing? _**Could **_he even do this_? _In spite of everything he'd accomplished, this wasn't his gift to just give away. People from generations behind him poured blood, sweat, and tears into their labor, cultivating and building something that could be passed down Father to Son, Mother to Daughter...Yet here he was, ready to make the decision that would change a century of lineage...

Bruce closed his eyes, considering what was at stake. He saw fleeting images of dead officers, dead women and children, he heard Rachel's final scream... and then suddenly he saw flashes of white caked make-up—a purple suit—yellow rotten teeth—those demented eyes laughing, relishing in the panic all around...

But most of all, Bruce remembered a little girl with hollow blue eyes, loosely holding her mother's hand, while gripping a small silver badge in the other—Officer Green's Police Badge...

Bruce signed his name.

Alfred calmly flipped to another page, pointing to another section. Bruce repeated his signature, his mind numbingly detached from his hand and the pen. It went on like that for 10 minutes, the two of them not uttering a word, only the sound of pen and paper scratching against one-another.

With a sigh that could have been out of relief or anger, Alfred reached the last page. "That is all, Master Wayne" he said quietly, filing the papers back into order.

Bruce held the pen out to him, still looking down at his signature, a name staring back up at from the page. _Bruce __**Thomas**__ Wayne._

_Thomas._

Alfred reached for the pen, but it didn't budge from Bruce's fingers. Alfred looked to Bruce uneasily.

"Master Wayne?"

Bruce looked up from the table, his eyes pensive. "You've been good to my Father, Alfred. To my entire Family, you've long ago paid back the debt to my Grandfather."

"Yes, Master Wayne"

Bruce released the pen. "Why stay and serve my family? You could have gone and found your own life years ago. Your own family, your own wife...your own kids."

At first, Alfred stayed silent at this. He couldn't believe that his normally brooding charge would bring this up—especially on a night when the two of them clearly did not see eye-to-eye on something. Yet this exact moment brought a small measure of happiness to Alfred, for he was the one person in the world who Bruce could truly confide in.

Alfred looked at the man in front of him, if only Martha could see her boy now, dressed in military armor, jumping off rooftops...at least William would have been proud.

At the thought of William Wayne, Alfred smiled faintly. Will wasn't his father, for Alfred found and bonded to his true Father later in time...yet William was unique. The man raised him when he had nobody, loving him and cherishing him even though he seldom said it. An odd relationship, but not unheard of...

"I'm not your father, sir. I never pretended to be." Alfred said serenely, his eyes becoming misty. "But I will not lie to you that I've always seen you as a Son...that's why I never left to find a family."

Alfred squeezed Bruce's shoulder.

"I've had a son to look after."

At those words, Bruce looked down at his hands. It would have been arrogant of him to assume their relationship out loud—but they both knew, and this was the first time they confirmed it.

"I can't tell you how much you mean to me Alfred" Bruce said hoarsely, his eyes blinking. "I—I'd be lost without you"

Alfred patted Bruce's shoulder. "Worse sir, you'd be dead."

Bruce chuckled. He couldn't help it, even in the midst of death and misery, in the face of a threat as bleak as The Joker and Luthor...He felt 8 years old again, when the only person he had left was a lanky old Butler who could always make him smile.

Bruce looked back up, a new glint in his eyes. He gripped Alfred's hand, "You still haven't given up on me?"

Alfred's eyes twinkled, "Never Master Wayne, never"

A small feeble voice beeped out of on the far side of the room, small pieces of information could be discerned in the midst of radio hiss. "Gordon...Joker...hostages...buildings..."

Bruce looked back to Alfred, who shrugged indifferently. "They're certainly not asking for me, sir"

Bruce grinned as turned back to the workbench, to the feeble speaking noise. It was the radio inside the Cowl. Bruce slid it over his face, stretching and turning his neck. He pressed down on his belt. The Batpod hummed to life beside him.

"I'll have supper waiting on your return sir" Alfred said pleasantly, his voice carrying in the cave. "Chicken Soup. Your favorite."

Bruce mounted the pod, the bike shifting down under his weight. "As long as you don't forget the delicious vitamin shakes."

Alfred chuckle's echoed over, "Of course sir, Of course."

* * *

**Gotham City Police Headquarters – Rooftop: 3 a.m.**

"So where the heck are they?" Flash demanded, glaring up at the stars while draped leisurely on a balustrade.

Commissioner Gordon snorted. Reaching into his warm overcoat that proudly displayed _My Daughter is too pretty for your Honor Student_, he tossed a stack full of papers onto a nearby table. To his left was a steady drumming generator that currently doubled as a stand for an array of table silverware, condiments, mugs, and an old coffee pot. He lifted the pot and steadily poured the steaming black liquid into a mug, methodically adding sugars and powders, cheerily stirring the contents. He sipped the steaming coffee, smacking his lips appreciatively. After a quiet moment, he casually pointed to the center of the roof where a large skylight shone bright with the Bat-symbol in its center. "I told you, he often doesn't show."

Superman folded his arms, his mouth stern. "_He's _the reason why we're here. We're trying to _help_ him."

"Hell!" yelped Gordon, "Aren't we all Son!"

Superman scowled at Gordon, he pointed toward the generator with the display of supplies. "If he doesn't show up often, why do you have such a nice setup here? "

Gordon casually sipped more coffee and eyed Superman from the cusp of the mug.

Superman waited with a pleasant smile, eager to get the best of a Gotham Denizen.

Gordon slowly lowered the coffee mug, shrugging. "Wife got the house in the divorce."

Superman stared blankly at the Police Commissioner.

Gordon, with a shrewd smile, raised his mug up to Superman and chuckled. Superman snorted and lazily waved back, shaking his head, bemused.

John sullenly sat down and tossed a series of blue prints and maps aside. "And I went through all that trouble for nothing" he muttered, "I must have broken three air traffic laws on my way home."

Shayera rolled her eyes, "It's not like you _paid _for anything—you're the bloody _Green Lantern!_ You have one of the most powerful items in the universe in your possession, and you're _moping_ around because Batman and Diana decided to spend a little one-on-one time!?"

John looked up at her, disbelief ringing in his voice, "You think—wait, you think that Diana and—oh man that's a real laugh!"

Superman and Flash snorted in the background.

Shayera eyed them, shaking her head and waving them off. "You guys don't know a thing about women"

J'onn, who had passed the time by leaning on a railing, quietly meditating to himself, immediately stepped forward to face the group, "They're almost here" he stated calmly.

Gordon sipped some more coffee. John, Flash, Superman, and Shayera all looked at J'onn dubiously.

"Er—what?" Flash asked, his gaze slowly arching over the surrounding rooftops.

J'onn furrowed his eyebrows, turning his head sharply to the air as something buzzed in his eardrum "You don't hear that?"

Superman and John exchanged an odd look. Shayera looked around uneasily, she slowly reached to her back where her mace hung in a leather strap.

"J'onn, we don't hear anything" she stated anxiously, "Are you sure it isn't a squirrel or bird?"

A bark of laughter erupted from Gordon, "Try fusing those two together" he offered, now sitting up straight and reaching over to the stack of papers.

Shayera looked troubled, "What are you talking about?"

Gordon cocked his head and after a minute, he snorted in disbelief, muttering dryly to himself as he peered over the documents.

Shayera indignantly arched an eyebrow, "Do you know something I don't?"

Gordon stopped mid-reply as a small shaft of movement flickered across the opposite rooftop, illuminating a lone figure. Gordon smiled to himself, he turned back to an expectant Shayera, her arms folded and her stance defensive.

"Well?" she demanded.

Gordon eyed his now empty coffee mug, he pointed up to the rooftop before reaching over again to the steaming pot.

The League hesitantly looked up to the rooftop—nothing.

Flash turned back around, "What are we supposed to se—Oh."

"Flash" Diana warmly greeted, as if just passing him by on the street.

Shayera, Superman, and John all whirled around, their expression matching Flash's.

Diana beamed at them. "So that's what that looks like" she sighed satisfied.

Gordon snorted in the background as Shayera and Flash rolled their eyes. Superman walked up to her earnestly, "It's nice to see you Diana...Is he coming?"

"I have a better question!" Shayera exclaimed, "What were _you _and the _Batman _doing that took you guys so long, hmm?"

Diana turned bright pink, she scrambled for a response before Flash pulled it out of the fire for her.

"Don't listen to her Diana" he chirped, "she thinks that you have somehow penetrated the armor of Batman and gotten to the mythic-gooey-warm-center."

Superman and Lantern both chuckled. Shayera glared daggers at them before turning back to Diana.

"Oh, you can't fool me Missy. Don't think this conversation is over" she huffed.

Diana couldn't be more happier to change the subject. She turned back to Superman.

"He's coming soon. I'm here to bring you up to speed." She turned to Gordon, bowing slightly "_Commissioner_, about the radio towers. Are you—"

Gordon waved it off, "We got him."

Diana was taken back, "_Got Him_? What do you mean?"

Gordon placed his mug beside him and walked over to her, passing along the stack of papers.

Diana examined the documents, "_City Maintenance and Development Security Ordinance_ "she read aloud, "_Gotham City Urban Development Projects allows the Municipal placement of surveillance equipment in an effort to prevent any kinds of plagiarism and/or destruction to developing property"_

She looked up to Gordon curiously, "The city is putting cameras in buildings?"

"_Has" _corrected Gordon, "This Act has been instated for three years now, every building that has begun construction since then has surveillance cameras that the GCPD and Gotham Judiciary has access to. Which means..." Gordon skimmed over the pages again, pulling out a large photo, "...that we've been firing up all the cameras in search of the Joker."

In Gordon's hands was 8x10 black and white, grainy and poor quality picture. The League couldn't make sense of it until they leaned in, focusing on the image where they immediately recognized the white plastered face of The Joker, dressed in what looked like his signature long coat.

Gordon nodded his head, confirming their thoughts, "We can all go get the bastard at any time. As soon as—hold on, I have to get this."

Gordon slipped away from them as his cell-phone went off, proudly ringing the national anthem.

John watched Gordon from a distance and snorted in disbelief, "Wow...you'd think it'd be a bit more difficult."

Flash and Shayera both looked equally pleased. Superman, however, was focused on Diana's expression. She looked troubled.

"Diana?" he asked unsurely, "Is everything alright?"

Diana shook her head, "It's good that we found the Joker, but I have new information that you better sit down for, it's a bit of a shock."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Superman, You of all people are not going to like it—"

"You're not going to like this either." Gordon said grimly, walking back over to them as he tucked his phone into his pocket, "Real bad news. We better make this fast."

Gordon produced more photos, even more diluted and poor. Several white patches were spread out in a row, while faint outlines could be made in the dark shadows of the picture.

"My analysts just confirmed that those white areas in the picture are Gotham General doctors, gagged and tied up while the black outlines are men with Assault Weapons. I've also received word about a thousand 9/11 calls – The Joker has got two buildings filled with good standing Gotham City Citizens. They're loaded with barrels of Ammonium Nitrade, ready to detonate with C4. We got a Hostage Situation."

Gordon ran a hand through is hair, looking more stressed than ever, "And Harvey Dent is a possible hostage."

The Gotham night seemed to drop 100 degrees as the League all stood speechless. The Joker was bordering on insanity, he had thousands of people's lives under his will...and the League knew he could kill them all without blinking an eye.

John was hit the hardest. He stared at the floor, mumbling. "Ammonium Nitrate...C4..."

Gordon grimaced. "Aye, son"

Superman looked warily between the Commissioner and Lantern, "I don't follow...what's Ammonium Nitrate? Is it that bad?"

John let out a scornful chuckle at the floor. "_Is it bad..." _he mumbled.

Superman stared uneasily at him. "...John?"

John looked up at him, his eyes strangled with grief "It is _very_ bad news Superman, the insurgents in Afghan used that stuff against our guys as roadside bombs..." John trailed off, sickened and hunched over. Shayera immediately went to his side, her light-hearted and playful demeanor gone.

After a shaky breath, Lantern looked back up to Superman. His eyes weary with anguish. Shayera squeezed his hand.

"...there was nothing left for us to give to the families." he said hoarsely.

Diana bit her lip and exhaled bitterly, looking up at them guiltily.

"I'm afraid it only gets worse."

* * *

"I'm going after him." stated Superman immediately after Diana's last word.

"Yeah right, you're going after the one guy with Kryptonite in his possession" barked Shayera. "You tell me how that goes."

"She's right Superman" said Diana, "It's exactly what he expects."

Flash extended his thumb and forefinger into the shape of a gun, "He'll have that Kryptonite bullet waiting when you arrive on his doorstep". Flash pointed to Superman, and sharply pulled his hand upward. "Remember what happened with Mettallo?_"_

"_If he knew I was coming!" _exclaimed Superman, "He doesn't know! Last time we all were unprepared and unaware. This time he won't be expecting me."

"You won't be going alone" said a dark gruff voice from the opposite rooftop.

The League turned just in time to see Batman descend onto their level, his momentum controlled as he glided into a purposeful stride. As he approached his cape began to retract itself, folding fluidly onto his back as if it were alive.

Flash threw his hands up. "_Wings_. Man, you always get the good stuff."

Behind the cowl, Batman grinned. He stopped just outside of the League's immediate area. He turned to Gordon.

"_Jim_. How is Barbara and the baby?"

Gordon raised his mug to him with a small leisure—their accustomed greeting. "She's doing well, we decided to name her after her mother."

Batman nodded appreciatively. "Barbara. That's a good name."

Gordon grinned half-heartedly, "Thanks, but time is against us. Take a look at this." Gordon held out the papers for Batman, who waved them off and tapped his ear.

"I've heard it all. Joker. Hostages. Cameras. Everything. No need for the Towers, I've tapped into the camera's frequency."

"'Course you did" snorted Gordon, "Now what's your play?"

"I go in. Take him out. Save the hostages."

"Short. Simple. I like it."

J'onn stepped forward and looked between the two men with interest. "I'm at a loss here" he said, pointing to Gordon, "Aren't _you_, as the Gotham Police Department's Commissioner, obligated to arrest the Batman on sight?"

Gordon shrugged. "That's just riff-raff for the press. Look it's a long story, but the essential is that our mutual friend here." Gordon pointed his mug to Batman. "Saved my youngest child, James, 6 years ago. I'm not arresting him for that. Plus, he's done more for this city than anyone you can name."

Batman grew irritated, "Let's get to the plan. We're wasting time."

Superman nodded affirmatively. "Agreed. I'll get Luthor while the League b—"

"You aren't going Alone." Batman said coldly, "These are the orders. John, Shayera, Superman will—"

"_Orders!?_" balked Superman. "You aren't my commanding officer. I'm going to get Luthor, that's final."

"Listen to me Superman; _you will get him_" hissed Batman. "I just need to make sure you have the adequate team members to ensur—"

"The more time we waste here, the more time we gift Luthor to ready his plans!"

"_We do not know what his plans are yet!_"

"We won't if we just stand around here!"

Batman grit his teeth, "You. Do. Not. Want to go down this road Superman."

"You always talk about doing what's best for your city, Batman. Well I'm doing what's best for MINE." said Superman flatly. "I'm going after him. You and the League will not stand in my way."

A pregnant silence passed where the League all looked at each other, alarmed by the verbal battle between two of their greatest allies.

In the silence, Batman's knuckles popped as a blur of movement at his waist shot out a lone black shadow toward Superman. Superman rolled his eyes and casually flicked it away—immediately screaming in agony as he quickly withdrew his hand. A large red gash now plain on his palm. A Batarang clinked to the floor.

"That was about one-tenth of an ounce of Kryptonite, grinded and molded onto the batarang's bladed edges." Batman explained, his voice acidic. "Luthor has acquired enough Kryptonite to make thousands of Batarangs, or bullets—whatever he likes really, all with double the dose."

"So Superman, I strongly advise that you heed these orders. Because if you don't, the only pain you're going to pose to Luthor is the ache of having to send a servant for a body bag."

Batman held out his gloved hand and twisted his wrist, the batarang on the floor vibrated violently before shooting back into Batman's palm.

The League exchanged quiet glances.

Gordon politely sipped some coffee in the background.

"Now" said Batman sternly, addressing them. "The plan. As I said before. Flash, Shayera, and Superman will travel to Metropolis. Superman and Shayera, I need you to approach from the opposite direction that Flas —"

"Why?" Flash piped up, "Because I can't keep up? Let me assure you that I am stil—"

"_Flash..."_ growled Batman, his voice so deep that it could have shaken the entire building.

Flash immediately quieted down, looking sheepishly at the floor.

Batman grunted irritably, he reached behind him and began fiddling with the rear compartments of his belt. "Flash, I need you to approach from the other angle because Superman will use his vision to spot any traps or ambushes. If he finds lead or any ambushes waiting for you, they're all yours..."Batman paused, a grin spreading on his face.

"...you alone have the abilities".

Flash looked like Christmas had come early. Batman smirked inwardly. Nothing like a little ego-feeding.

Shayera, however, frowned as she noticed that she was left out the plan, despite being named to the team. She stepped forward to ask, but Batman was already ahead.

His hands came forward from his rear belt with two black slender prisms, each the size of a small shoebox. He methodically pressed them together and with two complicated twists, locked them into a narrow and corrugated gun. Batman twisted two small dials on both sides, adjusting two red digital timers. With a nod of satisfaction, he held it up to his eyes, looking into a scope that fit the cowl's eye-sockets perfectly. He pointed up at a 180' degree angle, parallel with the surrounding buildings. He pumped the two prisms apart, the gun immediately discharging a high-pitched whine. Batman calmly pulled the trigger, firing high up in the Gotham sky.

Batman kept squinting into the scope, the gun remained trained vertically.

The League held their hands to their eyes to protect against the inevitable explosion.

Ten seconds passed.

Nothing.

Flash grinned. "Well that was anti-clima—"

A ball of light suddenly materialized high up in the night, bright orange red. The ball quickly spread out evenly, gaining mass and color at a rapid pace until it resembled a giant fiery basketball floating in the middle of the atmosphere. The league all instinctively turned away, the remnant heat of the explosion just beginning to reach the ground.

Batman tossed the gun to Shayera. "You will be flying high up above, firing those projectiles to any targets that your team identifies."

Shayera looked down blankly at the gun, and then up at the explosion, down back to the gun, and back up to the explosion.

She gripped the gun in her hands cautiously.

Batman waved it off, "There's no need for that. Unless it's timed and primed, the rounds aren't dangerous." Batman pointed to the digital red clocks. "Those timers control everything. Size of the explosion on the left. Time to detonation on the right."

Shayera absorbed this quietly, she looked up the now fading explosion, and back to Batman.

"How many shots do I have?"

"500 rounds"

Shayera blinked. She looked down at the tiny gun. "Seriously?"

Batman shrugged, "Wayne-tech. My armorer does good work".

Shayera turned the gun over appreciatively, she looked into the lens, aiming randomly at the other buildings "How reliable is the scope?"

"Only for 2000 feet. For you to remain a low-profile, you'll obviously need to fly higher than that, so the scope will be useless..." Batman grinned fiendishly, "But, your name _is _Hawkgirl, is it not? Time to earn it."

Shayera threw Batman a challenging look. "Oh I can do my part." she patted the gun like a new puppy, "As long as this little toy does his."

Batman again reached into his belt and withdrew a series of tiny wedge-shaped devices that were individually bound by a grey metallic wire.

He turned to Lantern and J'onn.

"You both will handle the two buildings held hostage. J'onn, you will pass through the walls and locate the explosives." Batman handed the devices over to J'onn. "These are remote frequency disruptors, they'll block The Joker's detonator and other radio wave communication, but only if the device is in the immediate area of the receiver."

J'onn studied the disruptors in his palm carefully, he picked one of the tiny disruptors up and eyed it uneasily. "Are you sure this will block The Joker's signal?"

Diana looked at J'onn skeptically, "Really, J'onn? Look who you're talking to. I mean the man over-analyzes everything until he's 100% sure, and even _then _h—"

"I'm not 100% sure." Batman said matter-of-factly.

Diana blinked. "_What?"_

"I'm not 100% sure" he repeated simply, "That is why Lantern will be accompanying him."  
Batman looked at John squarely, "You mentioned you had experience with explosives?"

Before John could respond, Shayera stepped in front of him, glaring daggers at Batman. "Were you not listening to John earlier!?" She hurled at Batman, "If you think you're going to place John close to ANYMORE explosives, you are out of y—"

"He _will not_ be close to the explosives, Shayera" he assured.

Shayera stared blankly, "Wait—Wait...What?"

"He won't be near the explosives." Batman repeated calmly.

John eyed Batman, "You don't need me to defuse them?"

"No." Batman said quietly, answering John's question. "The receivers will be the premier line of defense, if they fail, then there is little chance that you will have the adequate time to defuse them all. Besides, if the Joker sees you fiddling with them, he'll set them off. Even if I keep him busy."

At this information, Shayera's eyes flickered uncertainly between J'onn, Batman and Lantern. "Then what's the point in sending them both in then?" she asked. "If only J'onn can remain unseen?"

"Damage Control."

Diana and the League immediately turned to John, who was looking down at his ring, gently stroking the raised symbol.

Batman kept his gaze on the floor.

Shayera eased toward John, "Damage Control?"

John didn't answer, instead he gave a weak nudge of his head that barely passed for a nod, "Ok" he said hoarsely.

Batman looked up to John, and quietly walked over, his boots crunching against the rooftops asphalt. He walked up to John's face, and gripped his shoulder.

"Thank you."

The League didn't understand what was happening, but the fact that Batman audibly thanked a member for their actions was more than enough to understand that some terrible agreement had just been made.

Shayera looked wildly between the two men and their solemn exchange.  
"_Damage Control!?" _she demanded. Her shrill call resonated with everyone around her, everyone flinching instinctively.

Diana, however, stood still, her stomach sinking. At Shayera's banshee call she finally understood..._Damage Control...A Green Lantern's Shield..._

She looked up at Batman, who read the expression in her eyes.

"It is the only way" he affirmed soberly.

Shayera looked between all of them desperately, the gun dropping from her hands and clanking roughly on the floor. She walked up to Diana in a trance-like state, "Wh—What is going on?"

Diana looked at her only female friend, the one person she could truly relate in a world of men...the look of terror on her face must have been the same one when Steve and Batman collided during the Joker's chase.

Hopelessness at the loss of someone you loved.

"You misunderstand, Shayera" Diana said soothingly "If they can't stop the explosion, John will be there to contain it. He won't sacrifice himself or anything like that." She turned to Batman, "Isn't that right?"

Batman showed no reaction, yet Diana took his indifference as affirmation.

Shayera blinked at Diana, then turned around to Batman, "Wait...what do you mean, _if they can't contain it? _Surely you aren't going to let thousands of people to die?"

"If the bombs can't be disarmed, we can't allow the explosion to reach the rest of the city." Batman said quietly, "John will be there to contain the blast—"

"—You mean making it easier for us to bury the dead." Gordon said angrily, now striding forward from his silent and detached area. He stared hard at Batman, "Everyone in there will be charred to bits—we'd have to bury their dental work. I will not allow that to happen!"

Batman shook his head, his eyes downcast. "There is no other way Jim".

Gordon wasn't convinced in the slightest, "Yes there is. It's simple, I will send in bomb squads and hostage—"

"—Where they'll also be burnt to ASH! Just like everyone else in that building!" Batman retorted.. "It's not that simple. With the Joker it never is!"

Gordon drew his pistol, aiming it at point-blank range from Batman's chest. "Then you leave me no choice"

Everyone besides Gordon and Batman immediately drew in a sharp breath, staring uncertainly between Gordon, the gun, and Batman's passive face.

Gordon looked around the tense faces wildly, the gun firmly in hand. "You all know that this is unacceptable!" he reasoned. "To throw away thousands of lives!? There has to be another way—there's always another way!"

But the League stayed silent, indifferent to Gordon's cry. They waited and looked to Batman, who in turn looked at Gordon with his signature calm and calculating stare. Batman turned his gaze to them, and almost as if the gun wasn't in Gordon's hand, he strode slowly and purposefully toward their circle.  
Gordon grew angry at his movement. "STOP!" he demanded, the gun following him. "I'll shoot you, Dammit!"

Batman paid no attention behind him, instead he looked at the faces around him carefully, his gaze a small arch. "You know what to do" he said gruffly, "Get Luthor. Save the Hostages." Batman looked to Superman, whose scowl faintly remained from their earlier disagreement. Batman held out his hand, looking directly at the Man of Steel. "Please, help me take this bastard down."

Superman's palm smacked loudly into his.

"He'll be wearing that enormous robotic suit of his, won't he?" asked Superman.

"Luthor? Yeah, probably" said Batman dryly.

"_Probably?_" repeated Superman, "Isn't it your job to be 100% sure?"

"I figured you would like the surprise"

"You got a funny sense of humor."

Everyone laughed at this exchange, forgetting the gun trained on them as it was so rare to see Batman out of his normal brooding manner, and even rarer to see two of the deadliest warriors on Earth enjoying a joke. Diana, however, wasn't buying into the inspired passions—she hadn't been given a role. Her stance grew belligerent as it began to click in her head._  
_

"Batman" she started annoyed, "If you think that I'm going to sit on the sidelines an—"

Batman turned away from a grinning Superman and shook his head at her, "You're going to be in the Watch-tower, I need you to be my eyes."

"Your _eyes?_" she repeated skeptically.

Batman nodded and pressed his belt. With a gentle machine-like _whoosh_, reflective lens immediately slid down from the cowl and over the eye sockets, shielding his eyes in a motorcycle helmet-like visor.

Flash didn't even try to hide his reaction."_Woah."_

Superman grinned, "You'll never cease with the new toys, huh?"

"You get used to it" Diana muttered off-handily.

Batman paid no attention to the others, instead he walked up to Diana, the night reflecting jarringly in his lens. "Using the camera's radiowaves" he explained, "you'll be able to see the entire building, inside and out. I need you to guide me through."

"As if you couldn't do that yourself" Diana scoffed. "You've been doing the exact type of thing for years. No...I want to fight. I can help you."

Batman gripped her shoulders. "You ARE helping. Listen..." Batman dropped his gruff voice and his lens retracted. At this range, Diana could see his eyes in the midst of all the black.

"...I can't go in there without knowing which hostages are in the most danger, what type of fire-arms they are carrying. Usually I'd have weeks to stake-out and gather intelligence, but I don't this time. I'm limited."

Batman spoke quietly so only she could hear him, in the voice of Bruce Wayne. "...Please. Help me save my city. You're the only one I trust with this. I need you."

Diana inwardly soared at this, a small spring of giddiness rose up through her at his words. She looked back up at him, her eyes saying something of their own. She didn't say, she couldn't...not here in front of everyone. But she didn't need to. The important things don't need to be said.

_I need you too, Bruce._

"Besides, "he added mildly, "The program only works for you, remember?"

Diana rolled her eyes, of course it did. She couldn't believe it, even back then he was plotting everything. Or maybe it was just simple coincidence, and he was playing it off—yeah, that felt right.

She gripped his arm and sighed. "You don't play fair, Batman..."

Batman grinned, he squeezed her shoulder. Nobody heard it, she was sure of it, for he spoke in the smallest of whispers—hidden underneath the small cracking of his gloves and armor, she could discern a small "_you're the best"._

Diana could almost smirk. Damn right she was.

"There's a transporter in the Cave" he said, "It's waiting for you."

Batman turned to Gordon, who still had the gun trained on him.  
"Jim? he asked squarely. "Are you going to shoot me?"

Jim Gordon looked at Batman, his hand shaking furiously. With a snarl of contempt, Gordon lowered the gun and snatched up his radio. "This is Gordon, get SWAT Team and Bomb Squad over to Prewitt Building on Laveern Street. Don't breach until my signal."

Gordon grudgingly pocketed the radio and stared evenly at Batman, "We need Dent _alive_." He turned back to the staircase of the rooftop, he swung open the door and he called over his shoulder, "You got 9 minutes".

Batman grinned fiercely at this, _thank you Jim._He walked up to the balustrade of the rooftop, stepping onto it and turned to the League—he felt oddly like general before his troops. "Everyone knows what to do. There are thousands of people right now, depending on our actions. If we fail, they die, it's a simple as that...Let's make sure kids still have a Dad and Mom at the end of the day."

Superman, Flash, J'onn, Lantern, Shayera, and Diana...every one of them looked up to Batman with a mixture of surprise and pity—it had cost Batman something to say that, to be reminded of why he chose this life when he could have dedicated himself fully to any other passion money-could-buy; to show a fleeting glimpse of his humanity when he went to such great lengths to mask it.

Batman held up a hand to his mouth and politely cleared his voice, more of a obligatory act than anything.

"I also wanted to say—What I wanted to make sure you knew..."

"I just wanted to say..._thank you._ For helping me. I know I haven't been the greatest of allies, and helping me with Gotham is beyond selfless—_"_

"Yeah well, it's not like we had better plans, Batman" said Flash.

This drew a collection of snorts and grins all around, even Batman himself let out a small chuckle.  
Flash looked absolutely pleased with himself.

"At any-rate" Batman spoke to them as the chuckles died out, "thank-you. When this is all over, things will be...different." he added distantly.

Batman's gaze lingered on Diana for a split-second—He didn't want her to go, he wanted to put her somewhere safe, where no harm could come to her. It was a bittersweet tug, Bruce Wayne didn't have many people that he was scared of losing..._maybe Father was right, one day I'd find a woman I would love and then I w— _

Batman almost fell off the roof at that thought, so thrown off his guard. What on earth was that? _Love!? _Despite his best efforts to shove it far back in his mind, it gnawed at him relentlessly. It wasn't the _idea _of love that frightened him, it was the fact that he used it so casually, so naturally, so _effortlessly _when Diana was involved_. _

But would he admit it? Would he be a coward for denying it?

It was bizarre that, he, The Batman, the guardian of a crime-ridden city could not admit that he was in love with—with—_Princess Diana!_?

He steeled himself. _Save the world now Bruce, deal with the Royal Highness after Batman retires._

He stared back out in the Gotham night, his lens sliding back down as his cape slowly unraveling itself, catching the wind and billowing behind him. Unbeknownst to him, Diana was staring right at him, admiring and absorbing the idea of Batman; the tormented mask, the billowing cape, the smooth armor, the city skyline in the backdrop, it all pointed to a god or a someone of unconceivable power, like herself and Superman—but she knew he was there, a mortal man buried deep beneath the veil...

He whirled around, jumping into the air as his cape fluttered around him, and just like that, he was gone.

Diana grit her teeth, "C'mon everyone. We got a city to save."


	20. Revelations

One Word.

_Enjoy._

* * *

A dark and seemingly shapeless mass hurtled through the streets of Gotham. On this night, to one of the few citizens who just so happened to be chancing a stroll outside, they would have sworn on their life that they had just witnessed a billowing black ghost race down the pavement at blinding speed; a ghost who roared with the deafening drone of an army of angry bees.

What they didn't know, however, was that the dark and shapeless mass that glided past them was no ghost, but The Batman himself, flooring the acceleration of the Batpod. Of course, between a Black and Billowing Ghost and The Dark Knight, you'd be hard pressed to find any significant difference.

Batman was considering how the mantle of Black Billowing Ghost would appeal to Alfred when a very lifeless voice spoke in his ear.

"_PROGRAM ON."_

Ten seconds passed.

Nothing.

Batman's head and shoulders seemingly dipped forward of their own accord as his entire state of being waited for the next instruction...

And so he was in for a very nasty surprise when the world around him became a jarring and unexpected transparent bluish-white—so surprising that his head involuntarily jerked backward, nearly throwing him off the back of the pod itself.

After a few frantic and dizzying maneuvers, he finally regained his position, and with a few more seconds, came to understand what had occurred.

The frequency response generator had started up.

With the Batpod rumbling contently underneath him and his nerves cooled, he lifted his head from his prone seat and examined the new vision at his control.

It was as if the world was a giant 3-D blue-print. The lens pierced through everything in their path, unprejudiced and merciless. Nothing was safe, nothing escaped his vision: buildings, homes, garages, rooms, basements, elevators, kitchens, offices—everything, laid out in front of him, in an all-seeing blue-white dye.

He was just beginning to discern the blueprint-like silhouettes of people shuffling and scurrying indoors, when a voice chirped in his ear.

"_Bruce?"_

Batman pressed the ear of his cowl, activating a small headset within the hollowed space. "Diana" he said casually, one eye on the road, the other fixed hungrily on the new vision available to him, "This is most unexpected."

"_Oh thank Heavens" _she breathed, relieved, "_I thought for sure I broke it."_

"Broke it?" he asked mildly, swerving easily around an oncoming street lamp, "How'd you figure that?"

"_I might have pressed the Start button a little more aggressively than I should have—stupid thing wouldn't work..." _she said, mildly annoyed.

Batman smirked. He could almost see her angry face, the way her eyes shifted and her lips pouted and...

"DAMMIT!"

Batman snarled as he threw his weight to the side, veering into a sharp turn as the Batpod grazed against the metal frame of a mailbox. He ducked his head as a shower of brilliant yellow sparks rained down from the scrape.

He needed to keep his mind focused or people would be killed. There would be plenty of time to explore the intricate workings of Diana's lips later on.

"_Bruce!?" _Diana said nervously, "_What on earth was that about?"_

Batman stayed quiet for a moment. "Um, nothing...what were you saying about the—?"

"_Don't give me that!" _she snapped, "_Bruce, I CAN see you. Remember? This whole satellite thing?"_

Batman groaned. Of course, she was following him with the frequency timer. The digital blue-print world was also her image...and yet, this sober fact sprang a question to his mind.

"How is it that you can tap into the frequencies of the Gotham Streets?" he asked seriously, "I was only able to tap into the Prewitt Building's camera feed."

"_I've directed the satellite to focus SOLELY on you. As long as I'm doing that, I can use the Satellite's response time to map out an environment as large as 100 yards around you, anything beyond that is off the grid."_

At this, Batman raised his head from the parallel pod and squinted out to the distance of the city—sure enough, it became a dark mixture of blue and white light, slowly fading into indiscernible shapes before finally fading into complete blackness. He looked behind him, beyond the bluish- white flapping of his cloak, the buildings and structures faded into the same indistinguishable black matter.

Suddenly, a translucent square map coalesced in the upper right quadrant of his vision, brandishing a warning; he was approaching a heavily congested junction.

And then, again without warning, a distinct yellow line began slithering confidently inside of the square map, as if it were exiting a maze that it knew by heart.

Batman squinted ahead to the junction that he would soon come into collision with. He switched back to the map.

"Hm..."

Instead of easing on the brakes and setting down on a different route—he slammed down on the throttle.

Where he would have smacked solidly into the bumpers of Gotham Citizen's, he glided effortlessly between the rows of traffics, maneuvering and weaving in through the small gaps and openings—his route mapped and plotted ahead by the Satellite itself.

After escaping the labyrinth of vehicles (and the indignant honks of several drivers), he veered into an alley and began blasting away all obstructions into useless debris. Another question sprang to mind.

"How'd you do it?"

"_Do what?"_

"How'd you arrange the satellite to focus on me?" he said, his own curiosity growing. "I didn't anticipate it to map out a route ahead of time; I didn't design it for that."

"_You're impressed, I take it?"_

"Very," he said admittedly, "considering you still don't know how to work a cell phone."

"_Heh_. _All I did was ask if you had a map—then, before I even finished talking, the woman's voice said, 'activating GSP'. Neat huh?"_

"GPS, Diana." Batman said gloomily. He was feeling very stupid indeed. How could he forget that the program would heed and morph itself to Diana's words—when he designed it himself to do so?

"Quiet you two love birds" another voice chirped in his ear, "We just passed Luthor's defenses—the sorry excuse for defenses that is..."

A small pump and whine could be heard in the radio silence, before a silenced discharge _thud._

"By the way Batman," Shayera sighed admiringly. "This thing works beautifully."

Batman felt a small sense of pride at her words. He made a mental note to send his thanks to Lucius.

"Hey! Hey! Watch it! I'm running down here!" yelled another voice, far less cheerful. "That's the 3rd time, Shayera!"

"Sorry, Wally!" Shayera said hurriedly, "Didn't see you."

"_Didn't see me..."_ Flash muttered darkly.

Another voice broke through the silence, this time it roared into their headsets. "_IT'S OPEN_—Shayera! Flash! Follow me!"

"OW! Don't you know that we have _radios _in our_ EARS!_?" barked Flash angrily, "You don't have to yell so that half of Metropolis hears you!"

"C'mon, Wally, stop being such a baby." Superman said cheerily, sounding much unaffected by his words. "Batman and Diana, do you read?"

Batman and Diana both spoke simultaneously, "_Copy"_

"We're going inside Luthor Inc. How's everything on your end? "

"_We're closing in on The Joker."_

"Hey!" said yet another voice,"Is everything going alright on your guys' ends?"

"Yes, John." Superman said contently, "And yours?"

"Excellent." said a monotone voice, "I have already deactivated 3 explosives."

"Good." Batman said, "But don't let your guard down—it sounds like exactly the type of thing he'd pull to lull you into a false sense of security."

"Roger" J'onn and Lantern said simultaneously.

"OK. Everything seems to be going smoothly, our team will notify when we have Luthor. Superman out."

"Lantern out."

"J'onn out"

As Batman dashed out of another corner, his ears picked up something underneath the pod's high-pitched whine...sirens. The Police were on their way. He glanced behind him to the distant background, searching for the source... They couldn't be so close, he needed more time...

Diana must have read his mind.

"_When you exit the garage, there's going to an intersection, blow up a car."_

Batman was sure he didn't hear her correctly. It must have been a piece of debris that floated up into Cowl and lodged into his ear canal.

"Did you just say blow up a car?"

"_You need more time, otherwise Gordon and his men will arrive before you." _She said indifferently, _"Blow up a car."_

"Blow-up-a-car. Oh yeah." he mumbled as the intersection came into view. He primed his canons to their lowest setting. His hand hovered over the firing controls.

"_It's not like you don't do it all the time, Bruce" _she said brightly.

"Yes!" he said, "But there are no people in the cars that I blow up!"

But it didn't matter. A large semi-truck lay ready to make turn and Bruce bit the bullet—he shot the cannons, blasting a crater-size hole in the cargo hold.

Hopefully the driver would call the police.

"_That should do it" _Diana said cheerily.

Batman stared at the decimated semi-truck he left in his wake...

This woman was getting dangerous on him.

"_Ah_..._You're coming up on your destination" _she said. "_2 minutes."_

Batman turned to the square map yet again, he was indeed closing in on the Prewitt building. But he didn't have time to grapple up 25 floors. No...He needed a quicker way...Batman's fingers hovered over a very specific button...

Focusing his attention on alleyway to his immediate left—Batman slammed on the brakes and threw all his weight to the left of the bike. For a fleeting moment, he lost all sense of the world as everything in sight became a wild whirl of color. He could hear the giant wheels of the pod screech in agony as they skidded against pavement until they finally gyrated with the turn—tumbling against the road with deep thuds—

And then the world came back. The pod now shifted into alignment with the alley dead-ahead. He throttled the acceleration as his right entire hand came crashing down on the button.

Batman threw his cape into the air and the coalescing fabric caught the rushing air with such intensity that he was all but yanked out of his seat. The Batpod confidently sped forward without its rider, and just as Batman was out of roasting distance, the exhaust shot out a scorching cone of fire directly underneath the area of his feet.

With that explosion of hot air, his now fully extended cape throttled him up vertically, his ascension resembling a bullet shooting out of a barrel. Higher and higher he rose— the air whipping against his face—his cape flapping madly—he stole a glance down to the alley—The Batpod's nose was parked immaculately in the shadowed distance of the alley, an inch away from the wall.

At the zenith of his ascent, the brief moment when his body seemed to hover in mid-air, he flung his cape wide open, halting his descent into an overseeing glide above Gotham City. With a small chirp from his lens, he refocused his attention toward the end of the Satellite's Frequency Grid, where in the far reaches of the blue and white world laid an isolated and unfinished building—the Prewitt Building.

His earpiece cracked to life, _"...the bat-pod just had to park itself, didn't it? No, it couldn't have crashed in your brilliant ascension, because everything has to be resolved smoothly, in true Batman-style."_

Batman couldn't help it, a small smug smile formed upon his lip. Sure he didn't have any superpowers...but he got by quite nicely.

"_Alright, there's the Prewiitt Building for you. I'm bringing up the grid...now how on earth do I do that—oh, I just had to ask...ok, you should have full access to the building's interface: floors, occupants, structure. You get the idea."_

"I know, Diana. I designed the system."

"_Don't get cute on me Bruce, you stuck me with this job, now you're going to reap the benefits."_

"Like I said, you were the o—"

The circular world of Blue and White drained into a vortex, the color seemingly seeping out of the city around him and draining down like a whirlpool until converging at a main center point—The Prewitt building.

Then, nothing but a dull grey wasteland surrounded the maddeningly pulsating blue-white light of the Prewitt building.

"_Full Access to The Prewitt Building."_

Bruce immediately banked right in the air, deciding on a series of giant glass windows on the opposite side of the building as his entry point. "Alright, give me the details."

The square box in his upper right quadrant expanded into a series of lists and small outlines, reporting a an abundance of lay-outs and interface features...But Batman had eyes for only one figure, the one at the top of the building; a figure with a long coat and plastered face, looking attentively to a huge box with dozens of wires attached to it...and then his attention shifted to the three small masses lying at his feet—dogs.

Why did it have to be dogs.

"Joker, canines, and wired explosives on Top Floor." He said automatically, "Confirm?"

The small chirping of the database buzzed in Batman's ear as Diana spoke fervently to the satellite. "_ Yes to the first two and and the explosives look like..."_

"_Hm. The explosions are something called...what the..." _Diana's voice grew bewildered, _"'conducive impenetrable'—any idea what that is?"_

Batman inhaled and exhaled slowly. He had to remind himself that Diana was still adapting to the World around her...baby steps...baby steps.

"It means that the Satellite can't see what's inside the giant box because it's perfectly enclosed by a conductive metal." Bruce said perfectly calm.

"_Oh..."_

"Listen, those wires, what does the satellite say about them?"

"_Aahhh...they're 'standard copper electrical wire'."_

Bruce grunted. Detective mode on.

"_What? What does that mean?"_

"The wires allude that he has some type of detonation explosives in there, and that theory is reinforced by the fact that he needed to shield the contents of the case from ambient radio frequencies—the kind of radio frequencies that could set off a misfire of his trigger."

"Meaning that he is carrying a large amount of explosives that he doesn't want set off unless by his own hand." Diana said excitedly, " You know, I would have thought that the fighting aspect was the most appealing part of your job, but this Detective work is actually pretty interesting."

Bruce snorted. "You haven't even seen the headaches that are the GCPD morgue."

"_Yeah sure, sure...ok. what's next?"_

But Batman was deep in thought, something gnawing at him irritably. Keeping true to his _modus operandi_, The Joker's actions made no sense whatsoever—why keep armored thugs watching over his hostages when Joker has a container of wired explosives that could decimate the entire building? _Why _did he take hostages in the first place?—He wasn't asking for a ransom!

Why fill the two other buildings with explosives, but neglect to send any goons?

Something wasn't adding up—A lot of things weren't adding up. And yet Batman couldn't help but feel that, like all of The Joker's seemingly incomprehensible plans, the outcome was tipped in The Joker's favor.

"Diana" Batman said quietly, frowning slightly. "Why would the Joker need to plant explosives in three buildings, along with goons here, but none to where Lantern and J'onn are headed?"

"_Ah..."_

Batman could imagine her biting her lip.

She sighed, "..._that is a very good question, Bruce."_

Batman silently agreed.

"_Ok, I just brought up the building's feed, 25 floors: hostages and thugs beginning on the 17__th__. There's 50 figures in long coats and outfits—they look like the doctors and medical staff from the Hospital. They're being held at gunpoint by...Oh Hera."_

Batman slowly circled high above the building, lightly dipping forward to lower his altitude. "What happened?"

"_There's 100 THUGS, Bruce...each of them armed to bear. It looks like 2 per hostage"_

Bruce swore above the city, he didn't mind the number of goons so much as they might start killing hostages as a means to ward him off.

Yes, he was a trained member of The League of Shadows...Ra's Al Ghul's stealth and fighting techniques were engineered for this specific purpose. Normally, he needn't take them out in a fair fight, he'd just use their numbers against them. It was surprisingly simple yet effective tactic: Kill the lights, smoke bombs, few batarangs, yank the thugs out of thin air, and with any luck the rest of the goons will run off at sight of their disappearing partners...

But this time, the sheer mass of goons combined with hostages and guns made it a different story for Batman. His stealth and terror antics would scare a goon into shooting randomly into the dark—right into the vulnerable head of a doctor or nurse.

Of course this scenario never troubled Ra's Al Ghul. _And what if a few died, Bruce? Their deaths would ensure a better future for the billions to come._

No, he would need to enter the fray directly—give the goons a target to shoot at.

"Ok, Diana" Bruce explained, "I'm going to start on the 17th. You'll give me the run down: number of goons and hostages, their position and status—then, you will shift to the floors above, they might start killing hostages as a last resort."

"_What are you going to if they DO start killing them, and you're 3 floors below?"_

Bruce knew she'd ask this, but he grew irritated anyway. He already throwing himself into the lion's den, he didn't need more questions.

"I'll figure something out," he grunted lamely.

"_What are you going to do if The Joker sets off those bombs while you're fighting his thugs?"_

Silence.

After a few minutes he could hear Diana sigh tiredly. "_Bruce admit it, you need help" _she said quietly, "_I could be there in 30 seconds."_

Batman squinted on his entrance area, his lens zoomed forward and brought up a series of windows that revealed 8 hostages lined in a neat row—and where their guarding goons lined up in an even more perfect line behind them.

"17th floor, far side there are 10 glass windows, where 8 hostages and 16 goons lay behind." He said mechanically, "Any more on the floor?"

"_Bruce, don't ignore my question."_

"Dammit Diana," he growled. "If you come down the Joker will just start blowing things up."

"_How do you know that!?" _snapped Diana.

"Because he ju—because I..."

But he didn't know how to explain himself, it was an instinctive warning, far more convincing than a hunch or a guess. He just _knew _that the Joker would react that way. He was expecting Batman to come alone, and if he showed up with reinfor—

"_BRUCE!" _Diana screeched, _"Answer me dammit!" _

"I just do, Diana." He said truthfully, "Trust me. I know him."

"_You .Just. Do." _she said in a maliciously soft tone, _"Oh yes, that makes perfect sense."_

"Diana, I'm going in." he said flatly, "I need that info on those upper floors now!"

"_Bruce, no. I won't see you commit suicide right in front of me."_

Batman, however, continued forward as he if he hadn't heard her. With the windows in sight, and two goons at his mercy, he had his opening.

He flung the cape around him, and his body dropped like a stone, diving toward the earth at breakneck speed, his eyes narrowed as he calmly counted down in his head...

He hurled his cape out to his sides and heaved his chest upward, pulling out of the dive, bursting with unseen speed toward the glass. Batman ducked his head, his horns pointed outward like battering rams—and then the world became a brief screech of shattering glass, screaming, and gunfire. Batman's momentum blasted him past the line of hostages, and gave him the needed power to heave two goons off their feet and into the dark shadows of the incomplete building. The snatched goons' screams echoed throughout the room and the gunfire suddenly halted...a steady silence filtered into the room as the thugs searched silently for their recently disappeared partners.

Apart from the occasional _crunch_ of a thug treading on broken glass, the silence was broken only by the ringing screams of the two disappeared goons, who, from their fellow thugs' perspectives, were just snatched up by a dark and blurred figure—a figure who had vanished into the darkness, dragging their terrified associates along with him...

High above them, perched on a steel beam, Batman was holding the two goons (now unconscious) over the edge. He could only imagine how the thugs would react if the bodies of their two vanished colleagues dropped right in front of them.

_Time to play._

* * *

Superman blitzed forward, his red cape suspended behind him in mid-air as he planted his weight forward onto his left foot and rammed his left shoulder into the armored chest of a tall and bald-headed security guard. The security guard didn't have time to voice his displeasure—he was skyrocketed back 40 feet, slamming into far wall before slumping down to the floor, lifeless.

"You killed him!" Shayera cried out.

To the right of her, Flash snorted mischievously. He seemingly disappeared in place, and reappeared kneeling down beside the security guard, two fingers at the neck.

"Unconscious, but very much alive," he reported brightly, "but probably going to wish he was dead—with that headache he's going to feel when he wakes up..."

Superman continued forward and came upon a shining steel door, he wrenched it off its hinges with as much effort as turning a page and tossed it over his shoulder.

Flash took one look at the crumpled door, and then back to Superman. "I'm guessing knocking is out of the question."

Superman jerked his head toward the doorway, "C'mon. Let's go have a chat with our favorite bald nutjob."

Shayera, carrying the pump-rifle and mace in two hands, looked over the guard thoughtfully as she walked past him. With a small smile she reached down and lifted the assault rifle of the body, carefully detaching the strap and dissembling the gun into a pile of useless black pieces. She happily attached the strap to the pump-action gun and slung it over her shoulder and giant wings. She twirled her mace in her now free hands. She beamed up at her two fellow members' impatient faces.

"What?" she asked pleasantly, "I was getting tired of holding it."

"John taught you guns?" Flash asked skeptically.

Shayera stepped over the all the metal fragments at her feet, "You learn a thing or two after spending time with an ex-marine—"

"WHERE IS HE!?"

Ahead of them, past the door way and narrow hall, Superman was clutching a terrified secretary by the scuff of his neck, dangling him out of a shattered giant oval window.

"_What a— you doing here_?" wheezed the beady little secretary, who was clutching to Superman's forearm with dear life, "Please let me go! You have no rig—!"

Superman slackened his grip, and the secretary dropped a few feet before Superman tightened his hold again. The secretary shrieked, he clasped wildly at Superman's extended arm with a desperate frenzy.

"OK—I'll tell you anything you want! Please! Please! I have a wife and kids!"

Superman's face scrunched in confusion at this, then a shadow of shame crept up on his eyes. Superman turned back to the room and lumped the secretary into a corner, his head hanging.

"I don't know how _he_ stomachs it" he muttered distantly, "Even though this scumbag might be lying, I—I can't bring myself to interrogate."

Flash and Shayera both treaded silently forward, well aware of who _"he" _was. The room they had unceremoniously entered could have belonged to a politician. It reeked of power. Two giant windows were sided on either side of the circular room. And in the middle, sitting comfortably on the shining polished wooden floor, was a grand Victorian desk study that was covered in various inkblots, pens, papers and letters—the politician might have just gone out for lunch.

Flash turned to the corner where the secretary was now cowering, "Where is he?"

The secretary looked wildly between all three of the Members, he turned back to Flash and licked his lips hesitantly. "W-Who?"

Flash rolled his eyes. "_Who_? Oh I don't know, how about we try the guy whose name is on the FREAKING BUILDING?"

The beady secretary offered a weak smile. "Oh, Mr. Luthor, of course. I'm sorry, he hasn't come to work today. If you like you can com—_Ackkk!_"

The secretary shut his eyes and squealed like a terrified mouse as a plush chair flew at him.

"Oh please." sighed Flash. He vanished on the spot and appeared beside the whimpering man, yanking him out the chair's path and tossing him at Superman's feet. A second later, the secretary flinched at the sound of the chair smashing and splintering against the wall.

"_Shayera..." _said Superman reprovingly, more annoyed than upset, "Can you please not kill our only lead? At least not until we're done with him, that is."

Shayera gripped her hands tightly around the handle of her mace, electricity crackled on its surface at her touch. "Only because you said _please" _she said sweetly.

The man spluttered, "Ok! OK! Please! He's under the table! There's a small lever!"

Flash patted Shayera on the back as he moved to the table, "Nice, almost believed you'd actually do it for a second there."

Shayera frowned, "I wasn't bluffing."

Flash eyed the electrical sparks on her mace, and quickly hurried to the table. Shayera grinned.

"What we got?" Superman called over.

Flash peered over the desk, "I don't know Boss. I don't see any lever. Break his pinky, maybe he'll tell us then."

"NO! NO!" The secretary screeched, backing away from Superman. "INKBLOT!" he howled, his eyes never leaving Superman, "Pull on the green inkblot!"

"_Ah." _Flash tugged on a small green inkblot, and instead of lifting off the table, it continued to move on its own. Then, the table slowly slid away, revealing a set of platinum stairs in its wake.

Flash peered thoughtfully down at the chute, snorting. "Always the pompous one, isn't he? Honestly, _platinum..." _

Superman turned to Shayera, "Unconscious, but alive, ok?—_Alive _being the key word here."

Superman moved over to the stair-case, following Flash down the entrance.

Which left Shayera alone with the small beady secretary. Shayera whirled the mace casually in her hand, buzzing it to life. The secretary stared at the mace in her hand, flinching at each crackle and sizzle.

"Both of us all alone...with nothing to do" she said softly, looking over the whirling mace like freshly polished nails. She brought the whirling mace to an abrupt stop in her hands, dropping it to the floor as she stared directly at the beady little man, "I'm sure we can think up of something to pass the time."

She drifted toward the corner, dragging the mace across the floor where it scorched a black streak into the immaculate white carpet.

The secretary gulped.

* * *

"That brings the tally down to 58, right?"

"_59—the guy you wacked with the welding pipe is stirring_."

"Ah...more fun." Batman said dubiously, rubbing his left arm guardedly.

He was on the 22nd level. Everything had gone smooth up until the 21st, where one of the kidnapped doctors had suddenly rushed up from his fetal position, grabbed the nearest steel pipe, and proceeded to repeatedly slam it into Batman's forearm. Normally, Batman would have swiftly disabled the weapon while delivering the strongest counter-punch in existence, but he wasn't anticipating an attack from the doctors, not from the very people he was trying to save. So, instead of a beautiful counter-attack, Batman's left arm achieved a new record of pain, and the Doctor instantly crumpled to the ground after Batman delivered an earth shattering punch to his head.

Now, Batman was crouched only a few feet above the remnant thugs, cramped in a small opening that he suspected would one day (assuming the building wasn't blow up by the Joker) house the plumbing pipelines. The thugs (the conscious ones) were now fully alert to his presence, searching the room in tight packs of three to four—making his job harder, in other words. And to top it all off, he was panting; not long, not hard, but it was much more than he cared to admit. He shifted uncomfortably in the tight area, the nights definitely weren't getting easier, his faintly aching muscles and hoarse throat were a testament to that.

"_Bruce," _Diana asked cautiously. _"How are you feeling?"_

_Peachy_, he thought irritably. He was feeling just peachy as he dangled above assault rifles and while the growing pain in his arm became more and more apparent—why the hell did that Doctor attack him?

"I'm fine." He lied, deciding that it would be best if she didn't dive into another tangent. "I'm just warming-up."

"_I'm glad to hear that, because you've got quite a number headed your way."_

Batman waited for a moment before the sonar brought up a small-scaled version of the elevators in the building—and where 25 henchman were reloading their weapons as they lowered down to his level.

"Great. Just great."

"My offer still stands, you know," she said kindly, "I could be down there in thirty seconds."

"He hasn't activated those bombs on the top floor, yet." Batman said without heat, "I think we're making the right call here, he wants me alone—and it isn't like I'm not faring well on my own." He added gruffly.

"_You've got a point there, I won't deny you that" _she said seriously, "_I wouldn't doubt it if you beat me in a fight—with all the pressure points and nerve-endings that you know." _

"I've told you, it isn't about who is stronger, it's about who is smarter." He said calmly, although his stomach did a small flip of joy at her appraisal. "If you ever took advantage of Martial Art information, you would be an extremely daunting opponent. Someone like me wouldn't stand a chance."

Diana didn't immediately answer back, and Batman felt his face grow slightly hot as he realized what he just said.

"_...was that a compliment?" _she asked cheekily.

Batman didn't answer, instead he threw himself onto an unluckily and very much isolated thug that walked directly underneath him.

"_I'll take that as a yes."_ she said slyly. "The elevators have just arrived—there's a total of 30 thugs in that room alone."

Batman grunted in return, reaching into his belt for smoke pellets. He could see the vague outlines of the silent wave of goons searching the perimeter. He chucked the pellets into the distance and watched the already opaque room plunge into complete disarray, rendering everyone and everything out of sight...

Except for anyone who happened to own a sonar reader that relied on response times to map out their environment.

Batman treaded into the fog, where the once tightly packed and extremely effective groups were now the isolated and completely vulnerable individuals. He swooped behind a thug who was aiming his rifle wildly around him, and pinched his neck. The thug dropped lifeless to the floor.

"Hey—HEY! Someone's down!" shrieked a nearby goon, who had heard the body crumple to the floor. He rushed over to the body and bent over it. "Hey—HEY STEVE IS DOWN! EVERYONE STEVE—"

But he never finished his sentence— he didn't even finish blinking. All he knew was that he felt a sudden blow to the temple before the world became black.

Batman quickly retreated from the bodies, and watched as dozens more silhouettes hesitantly drew closer to the shouts of their member. He almost sighed—you'd think they'd brighten up by now. He carefully shifted his weight as he eyed two more silhouettes who had wandered off from the cluster of lost goons...

Ten seconds later, the room echoed with two rapid shouts followed by two dull _thud_s.

"He's here, _Batman is HERE!"_ shouted a hysterical voice.

"_You are seriously scary—you know that?" _Diana hissed in his ear.

Batman hovered behind the exposed back of a goon who was frantically trying to reload his weapon.

"You haven't seen anything yet" he whispered into the goon's ear.

The goons would have shrieked in terror...if not for the massive gloved hand that clamped on his mouth.

* * *

The platinum steps morphed into a brightly lit platinum hall that extended down like a stadium tunnel, all narrowed and claustrophobic until the end revealed a huge coliseum-like room. Superman led the triangle descent, with Shayera and Flash at his immediate flanks.

"Did he really pee his pants?" said a gleeful Flash.

Shayera twirled her mace and shrugged, "I didn't check personally, but a dark stain appeared on those designer slacks of his."

Flash let out a mirthful cackle.

Superman raised his left hand and stopped in place, "Quiet" he said as they came upon the entrance to the room. He focused his gaze on the immediate area ahead, his x-ray vision penetrating through the walls. To his side, Flash struggled to see further, straining his eyes and scrunching his nose in distaste. "What? I don't see anything."

"He's here" whispered Superman. To his right, Shayera quietly reached behind her shoulder and withdrew the pump-action gun. She primed it and held it in her right hand, her mace in her left. Flash cracked his neck and jumped lightly in place, loosening his muscles.

A voice seemed to slither from the walls around them, whispering in a disturbingly arrogant tone.

"_You might as well come forward. The entire city heard your entrance—unless of course you plan to continue with your silent approach—if that is the case, I will try and act surprised."_

Superman grit his teeth, there was only one person with that arrogance and confidence. He could almost picture that stupid smug grin, the immaculate designer suits, that bald head—

At this thought, Superman touched his own hair and felt small warmth of satisfaction rush through his body; even all the money in the world couldn't buy back Luthor's receding hairline.

They entered the room, and it was even more spacious and absent of color than the narrow tunnel let on. It was entirely white, and with the exception of a lone platinum table at the center, they might as well have entered the interior of a cloud. They looked around and spotted another extension of the platinum motif—a huge platinum railing circled up high, providing 360 degree view of the floor below. It could have passed for a heavenly gladiator pit.

The same arrogant voice rang throughout the pearly white room.

"Of course, I had expected you would one day figure out my possession of our favorite pebble, Superman—although I do admit, I had envisioned you doing so when I pierced your abdomen and jerked the life out of you..."

They all looked up to the center of the voice, leaning high up and luxurious on his railing, Lex Luthor scowled down at them, dressed in a fitting white space-suit and platinum boots.

"Where is the Kryptonite?" Superman demanded immediately.

Luthor rolled his eyes, "I'm not talking to the brightest of heroes am I? No...that would be our masked rodent friend, although he himself must he off his game, if he sent you to me..."

Flash cracked his knuckles, "Hey Baldy, enough with the chit-chat. Either you tell us where the green stuff is at, or I dangle you off this building."

"Please" sniffed Luthor, "Do not flatter yourself Speedster. I could have you disemboweled and disfigured in the time it takes me to square your IQ...although I doubt 0 times 0 would be a difficultly for anyone, even a small infant."

"Heh. Funny, seeing as you _look_ like a small infant—with that bald head of yours" muttered Flash.

To the right of him, Shayera stifled a snort.

Luthor let out a mirthless laugh, "Yes. It is rather amusing isn't? How you must resort to childish laughs in a pathetic attempt to mask your stupidity. No matter, I have far more pressing issues to deal with—there's the door." Luthor pointed at the hallway which they entered, and made to turn away.

Superman shot into the air and hovered at level with the railing. "When you say _pressing issues, _do you mean your meeting with _The Joker!?"_ Superman smirked, "Too bad we already know about that, _and _about your business deals."

Luthor froze mid-step with his profile half turned to the hallway behind him. "_What_...do you know about my business deals?"

Shayera took to the air, her wings beating serenely and leaving an angry Flash to the floor. ("Oh yes. I'll just enjoy the view down here, shall I?")

"We know about the cat's paws kryptonite-buy with Vespirito Industries" she said, hovering beside Superman. "And we know about the surgeons you paid off to insert the bombs into the hostages the nights of the Dent Fundraiser and Press Conference. We know that you've supplied the Joker with the Kyrptonite to escape the Gotham Police, as well as fund his terrorism schemes."

"_And_!" sang Flash down below, cupping his hands ostentatiously up to his mouth, "We know that the current spike in Rogaine share-holding is due to an enormous purchase of product by a dummy-corporation that you own!"

Superman and Shayera both would have snorted and broken into laugher—if Luthor hadn't beat them to it.

Shayera and Superman both fell into blank expression as they watched Luthor roar with laughter, clutching at stitch in his and doubling over as his eyes watered.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Down below, Flash was slightly put-out. "I was making fun of _you..._"

Luthor sank to his knees, his hands to his ribs and resting his shiny bald forehead on the railing.  
"_Ooohh! Ahhahahahhehehehh!"_

Superman was feeling slightly foolish now—_Why was he laughing_?

Luthor might have sensed the question in Superman's head, for he steadied himself off the floor and wiped a small tear from his eyes.

"_Oh—_haven't laughed like that in years. Can't believe how ignorant —how stupid—you truly are."

Superman clenched his teeth, he hovered closer to the railing. "Explain yourself, Luthor."

Luthor sniggered with glee, "I doubt you'd understand anyway, with that tiny little brain of yours—How you manage to match your socks in the morning is beyond me—!"

Superman bounded forward and grabbed Luthor by his neck, hoisting him up to the air like a rag-doll. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?" demanded Superman.

Luthor stretched his neck in Superman's neck and grinned, "Oh, just how stupid are you? How amusing it is to see you think so highly of yourself—"

Superman threw a right hook in Luthor's face—a tenth of the power in Superman's reservoir, no less, but powerful enough to gash his cheek."

"WHAT IS SO FUNNY!?" Superman roared.

"Your arrogance," sneered Luthor, spitting out a gash of blood, "That's what is so funny. You believed that I've been working with that—that _CLOWN!?_ I have no use for uncontrollable thugs, nor for blatant destruction with no future goal. No...I haven't even spoken to that painted _freak. _Much less work with him._"_

Superman narrowed his eyes, "You're lying to me Luthor, I know that you and the—"

"_You know nothing!"_ Luthor screeched, his voice now a painful whisper from Superman's chokehold, "You're a pathetic excuse for a human—_a freak, _just like the two animals that Gotham City endures. If I was truly working with the Joker—what would I aim for? What are my goals in working with a clown who has no rules, codes, and sense of self-preservation?"

Superman paused at this, he turned his gaze back to Shayera and Flash, both who uttered unhelpful, "I dunno."

"_Precisely_" Luthor said in a mocking tone, "As your dimwitted associates concluded. I would have no business with that degenerate."

Superman returned to Luthor and leaned in closer, his face inches from away, "The Joker had Kryptonite on him, he used it against me. When we traced it, we discovered it was piece from a larger amount that could be traced back to _Volucris Inc, _a company you just bought!"

Luthor snarled in annoyance, "You fool, I don't own _Volucris Inc_, for it was bought out by _Vesper—"_

Superman slammed another knee into Luthor's right thigh, drawing a roar of pain that echoed violently in the chamber. "We know you own _Vespertilio Industries__!" _Superman bellowed over Luthor's gasps of pain, "We know that you purchased _Volucris _for the Kyrptoni—!"

"—Which they didn't have!" Luthor wailed, his eyes watering from pain, "Lies—argh!"

Superman released his chokehold, dropping Luthor to floor where he landed on all fours, gasping down at the floor. "What do you mean they didn't have it?" Superman asked, eyeing his gasping rival uncertainly.

Luthor pointed a shaky hand to the center of the room, where they platinum table lay. "That's what my purchase bought me...1.2 billion in an egg-sized kryptonite."

* * *

"Where is he?" Batman groaned as he pulled himself up onto the final floor, his left arm now scorching with fire from the pain. He was in bad shape—he had picked up all sorts of nicks and gashes onto his suit, and his winded lungs weren't helping either.

He knelt down on the floor, catching his breath, when a bundle of wires caught his attention. "By the explosions?" he said calmly, grazing his fingers over the wires.

"_No...He's left them, he's on the far side of the room, looking out the window—three dogs at his feet."_ Diana added grimly.

"Great." Batman silently glided forward, his eyes flitting over to the Joker's silhouette at the far corner, before setting back onto the giant crate.

"_What can you see?"_

"Nothing." Batman said honestly, running his hands over the container, "This is metal—probably steel or some type of rebar. There are no openings or grooves..." Batman frowned. "If I'm not mistaken...I'd say this container is shut from the _inside._"

"_Inside?"_ Diana said, bewildered, "_But...if that's true then there's someone inside—trapped!"_

"Or maybe they _want _to be concealed." muttered Batman, more or less talking to himself. "This box is gigantic—wouldn't be hard to fill it with some oxygen tanks...but _why_ would they want to shut themselves up in the first place—?"

"Isn't he simply _adorable, _pooches?" simpered a disgustingly sweet voice, "Look at our favorite hero, playing detective! I'm so proud..."

Batman's hand dropped from the container and he slowly turned around, glaring straight into the black-laden eyes of The Joker himself.

"Where's the detonators?" he immediately growled.

The Joker's face split into a broad smile. " So you made it!" he cried happily, speaking as if he hadn't heard Batman, "And there I was telling Baldy that you might have been killed by one of the guys below..."

"_Baldy_?"

"My new Boss." The Joker said, waving his hand impatiently. "I don't like it much, but you can't beat the commute—he transports me instantly! It was a nasty surprise at first, let me tell you, but after—"

Batman cracked his knuckles.

"I think your boss is in for another nasty surprise."

"Oh, I have no doubt he will!" The Joker said brightly, he grinned mischievously, "But...I think we both have different surprises in hand."

"I'll have to hear yours when I visit you in Arkham."

The Joker beamed. "You truly are the man for me, buying me a house on the second date...GET HIM!"

At his call, three enormous burly black dogs came bounding out from behind his tailcoats, barking and snarling with the savagery of wolves. Batman pivoted his leg behind him and drew his fists up to his chest—exposing his razor sharp gauntlets outward.

"_You'll kill them!_" hissed Diana into his ear as his eyes tracked the dogs' paths. "_Those things will slices right through them!"_

Batman bent his knee as a dog prepared to launch itself at him. "I'm in no shape to fight fairly, Diana." he said honestly, his bruises and aches amplified all over, "I'm sorry."

"_But can't you—?"_

Too late, the room was filled with the pitiful whine of a dog in pain. Batman grimaced as his forearm sank deeper into the fur—he hated the sound of an animal in pain...

Batman screamed as his left arm exploded into white-hot agony—it was as if his entire mind had been wiped clear of everything but a sharp knife that was digging deeper into his flesh. He could barely hear the snarls and growls of the dogs, but he didn't care the slightest—the howls of dogs were so faint and irrelevant to the pain and torture he was under...he needed it to stop...his head was going to burst from his skull...his throat was burning from the screaming..

"_**BRUCE!**_"

And his eyes snapped back into focus, the room swirling into perspective, a hard and uncomfortable pressure at his back—he had fallen down at some point. Batman clenched his fists and ripped them out from dogs' jaws—he flung his booted heel into the mouth of the infuriatingly supercilious Clown above him. Batman scrambled to his feet, readying his arms for the snarling resurgence of the dogs...but it never came. He waited patiently for the scurrying paws on the floor...the galloping lope of the four-legged beasts...but it never came...Batman cautiously swerved his attention around him...he could see the unconscious form of the Joker...three dark lumps on the floor away from him, steam seemed to be rising from the three lumps..that was odd, Batman didn't remember frying the dogs to death...maybe he was just seeing things...he was very tired after all...he had single-handedly taken them all down...it was over...

Batman leg collapsed and he dropped to the floor, he panted tiredly...it was all over...in the uncommon silence he could hear sirens...so they had finally shown up...he owed Jim a beer...he owed Diana one too...

Hopefully she wouldn't kill him first. He could already see her yelling at him:" _you could have been killed! Why didn't you let me help you!?"_

Batman turned to his communicator. "Diana..." he said in between gasps, "Diana, where are you?"

"Bruce!?" yelled a masculine sounding voice, "Batman is that you!?"

Batman frowned, something had Superman scared.

* * *

Superman looked down to Flash and jerked his head toward the table, Flash vanished and reappeared at the center of the room, hovering over the platinum table.

"Don't see anything!" he called over.

"You have to lift it." groaned Luthor, his throat still raw and raspy from Superman's choke.

Flash gripped one side of the table with two hands and flung it on its side, revealing a small box shaped hole underneath. Flash bent over and retrieved an aqua-green rock that contrasted brilliantly with the pearly white room all around them.

"Looks like Kryptonite to me!" Flash chirped, turning the piece over in his hands, "Although this sure doesn't look like the massive amount Batman talked about."

"An illusion, there's a reason why this room is so large" muttered Luthor, pointing all around the room, "I was given that piece as a good-faith payment, but they never delivered on the rest, they never had any, it was a myth."

"Lies" hissed Superman, "You're holding back—"

"WHAT AM I HOLDING BACK!?" demanded Luthor, now sounding delirious, "I've told you what happened! If I had large amounts of kryptonite on hand, I would have used it on you when you first arrived—wouldn't I!? WOULDN'T I!?"

Superman was at a loss, he gaped down at Luthor who was red-faced and clutching his throat, glaring daggers up at him. The steady sense of certainty was slipping away from Superman, they had arrived into this building with all the answers, but a sinking feeling was bubbling in his stomach as Batman's information withered away before their eyes.

"Just how did you convince _Volcuris?" _he sneered, sounding skeptically, but he was losing confidence by the pound, "From what I've gathered, they have flatly refused any buy-out options—regardless of price."

Luthor began to rise, holding a hand out to the railing to steady himself as wiped away blood and tears from his pace. "What you need to understand, _Super-man..." _spat Luthor, "Is that _Volucris _has been acting very unusual these past two years. Over the past few months I have of course met with their executives to buy them out..."

"_And_" snapped Superman.

"_And _they never complied!" Luthor said angrily, "Various companies all over the world sought _Volucris—_if they were after the hidden resource of kryptonite, I do not know." he added disdainfully, "The one thing for certain, however, was that no matter how high the bid was, _Volucris_ would _always _adamantly refuse—and believe me when I say that. There was only one other company that could compete with my offers—Wayne Enterprises."

Flash and Shayera exchanged the most fleeting of glances. Superman coughed.

"Then, a year ago, I received a phone call from Walter Bojes, himself and said that—"

"Who?" Superman said

"_Their CEO!" _Luthor snarled irritably, "Tall, Black Man? Speaks broken English!?"

"Just get on with it."

"Well, he called me and said that he had 'changed his mind'" Luthor said, pouring all the hate and malice into his voice. "Fast-forward a few months later, and we made the deal."

"And that never struck you as suspicious?" Superman said mockingly, "You lobbied incessantly for years after a company that refused every time, and then, poof!?"

Luthor shot Superman a look of deepest loathing, "I was blinded by my immense hatred of you—I jumped at the opportunity...a lesson well learned..." he muttered darkly.

"And _that_!" barked Luthor, his haughtiness returning. "Is all I know! So if you will cease to trespass on my hospitality, I will remind you that even you—oh yes, even the cherished _Justice League—_is under the jurisdiction of the Law, I will press charges if you refuse to leave."

"Like you're one to talk!" sniggered Flash, "Get a load of Luthor here, I can already see that holding up in court— _famed criminal seeking refuge under laws he has broken!"_

"Yes, a rather comforting though isn't it" said Luthor maliciously, "You see, I_ am _a criminal, and one of the advantages of taking such a career path is no one expects anything from a criminal—especially expecting a criminal to adhere to Laws or Regulations. Now, _whereas you—_the supreme holders of Justice—must always follow the Law, or else risk the headline: _Famed heroes breaking Laws they've sworn to uphold and protect._" Luthor grinned wolfishly at Flash, "Tell me Speedster, which headline would you prefer?"

Flash looked murderous, he opened his mouth to retort but Superman cut him off.

"Don't" he called below, his eyes never leaving Luthor's, "It's just what he wants, he'd love to turn the public attention against us."

"Very wise" breathed Luthor, "Keep on like that Alien-boy, and you might rival the intelligence of that of a cockroach." On that note, Luthor whirled around and walked toward a door at the end of a hall.

Superman waited until the door shut before turning to his friends. "

"Well! What are we going to do now?!" Flash hollered from below.

"I don't know." Superman said honestly. Which was the bone truth, he had no clue. Their one lead had disintegrated before their eyes, nothing made sense: Luthor and The Joker weren't working together. So _how _did The Joker acquire the funds? How did he finance the surgeons? How did he attain the kryptonite, if all the pieces of it were locked and securely set? Diana assured him that Bruce would know in a heartbeat if anyone attained pieces of Kryptonite that had landed on Earth...

Of course, there was another way to acquire kryptonite: traveling to rough location of his destroyed home planet and snatching up one of the remnant pieces floating in space...but The Joker couldn't do that, he couldn't fly out millions of miles into space—there wasn't a single human that _could _do that...it would take someone with his powers to reach that place, and the last time Superman checked, there weren't that many people flying around with powers that rivaled that of a god, and even then—

Superman's insides froze.

There was someone...someone who had the ability to travel through space...someone who knew where the location of Planet Krypton was...someone who hadn't been seen in one year...

"BRUCE!" Superman bellowed into his communicator. "_**BRUCE**_!"

But he couldn't reach him—all he could hear was screaming and snarling...a male voice shrieking in pain...

"_DIANA! DIANA!" _Superman roared, his heart sinking as all he heard was radio static. Why weren't they answering? Maybe the _couldn't _answer...but that would mean...

Superman went dizzy from the thought...he was too late...two of his friends...dead...

"Superman, hey man." Flash whispered, sounding extremely scared. "What's happening—I've never seen you like this...you're not even remembering to say his name..."

But Superman was already in the air, his eyes wide and his stomach clawing with horrible guilt. "We got to get back to Gotham. I know who is behind all this. It's—"

"Diana?" panted a voice in his ear. "Diana, where are you?"

"Bruce—Batman!" Superman yelled. "Is that you!?"

"Superman?—Yes, it is me." Batman said tiredly. "I was trying to reach Diana...she screamed my name and she brought me back to my—"

"What? No—that was me," Superman said frantically, "Look, Batman, you need to get out of their right now! It isn't Luthor that's behind all this, it's—"

"I know who it is." Batman said coolly, sounding extremely calm and collected. "I know exactly who you're talking about."

"But_—How__!?"_

* * *

Batman inhaled deeply. His eyes focused on the big metal container...which was now lying completely open.

He now understood why the dogs had fallen down, with steam-rising from their bodies—they _were _fried.

He now understood why the Joker had kept a gigantic steel container in the building, with an inside lock—someone _was _inside of it.

He now understood why the doctors never found any incisions on the bomb-victims—this person_ could_ indeed transport objects at will.

He now understood why The Joker had repeatedly called his boss, _baldy—_this person _was _bald.

"I know who it is," Batman said, his eyes shifting to the round-headed and shadowed figure that had emerged from within the crate. "Because I'm staring at him right now."

The Figure stepped forward from the darkness and into the light. A small smile on his face.

"Hello, Batman." Darkseid said calmly, his red eyes gleaming with red light. "I've waited a long time for this."


	21. Prewitt Building

Batman's mind jammed; Darkseid, god of all gods, master strategist, extraordinarily evil and extraordinarily powerful, was standing 10 feet away from him, smiling. A small gear of self-preservation in Batman's mind managed to click into place and began to scream.

Stall.

Stall. Stall. Stall.

There was a zero chance in hell that he could take on Darkseid single-handily, and in his current condition, with his left arm butchered to the point of uselessness and the rest of his body throbbing with bruises, he wouldn't last two seconds. The hard truth was simple: he wasn't going to survive if he didn't wait for the cavalry.

Batman needed the League.

"You," said Batman abruptly, because it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Me," answered Darkseid warmly, his deep baritone voice courteous and civilized. "It not every day that you catch The Dark Knight off his guard, so you'll have to excuse me if I take this opportunity to...how do you mortals say it... 'Drink it in'?"

"By all means." Batman said, equally pleasant. Despite the pleasantries, the corner of his eyes had already begun to dart around the room, searching for any possible vantage points. He only had one shot at disappearing into the darkness, but he could see none that would be effective against Darkseid.

Darkseid bowed low and respectful, as if he was guest in Batman's home. He rose gracefully from the bow with closed eyes, the barest sign of a small smile on his rugged features; quite a vulnerable position to maintain when facing an adversary. But Batman was no fool; he stayed rooted at the spot, not even daring to twitch a muscle. He was perfectly aware of the sensory abilities that Darkseid possessed, rumors that he could hear blood rushing through veins.

Batman instead readied his mind for what was certain to come next: pain, and large quantities of it. Whether it came by a flurry of crushing blows or a burst of red light was what remained to be seen, because Darkseid hadn't killed him yet, and that meant that he needed Batman alive. For what? Batman had no idea, but he must have information that Darkseid required. And Darkseid wasn't the type to ask nicely.

"Relax yourself," Darkseid said suddenly, his eyes fixed on Batman. "I can all but hear your knuckle bones popping."

"Don't take it the wrong way," said Batman, "But I'm not too keen to _relax _myself in your presence...nothing personal, of course."

"So _well-mannered_," hissed Darkseid. "I assume that this isn't the way you treat all of your..._adversaries_." His eyes flickered over to the smoking heaps of flesh that were the dogs and then over to the unconscious Joker, whose body was sprawled-eagle on the floor.

Batman stayed silent, eyeing the dead and charred dogs with a measure of pity. He never killed when he could avoid it, but if his hand was forced, like it was tonight, he would have brought death quickly and cleanly instead of the cruelty the dogs suffered at the hands of Darkseid..._burned _alive was no manner to die...

"They didn't suffer," Darkseid said quietly, seemingly reading Batman's mind. "It was a quick and painless death, a millisecond of pain, and then..." Darkseid shrugged, "nothing."

Batman bit his retort back as the strain of the night's activities trickled back into consciousness; his legs felt faintly numb from fatigue while his eyelids drooped heavier and heavier by the second. Bruising on his torso flared up in tight stinging jabs as his chest expanded with every breath. And yet, all this discomfort dwarfed in comparison to the excruciating and scorching pain that was clawing its way back into his mutilated left arm. When he warily tested it by moving it a fraction of an inch, his back arched in agony as if knives plunged into his flesh.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Darkseid said coolly, gazing at Batman's arm. "I can only imagine what torn tissue would feel like...I wouldn't know, of course..."

"I can assist you there, if you wish?" snarled Batman, abandoning sweet talk as his patience blazed to the brink by Darkseid's haughtiness and his own bodily discomfort.

"Don't be foolish, Batman," chided Darkseid. "Even at the zenith of your physique, all you would pose to me is a mild challenge... now, without one of your limbs..." Darkseid sneered, "I could mop the floor with you."

"All talk, big guy." said Batman "But I don't see any walk."

Darkseid tiled his head slightly, as if he was mildly intrigued by something. "Then let me offer you some evidence."

No sooner did the words leave his lips did Batman's right leg collapse underneath him. He didn't even yell as the cold floor suddenly crashed brusquely against the right side of his face. Batman blinked, disoriented, on the floor, and then a painful weight slammed onto his left cheek, pinning him to the ground.

"Here, in Gotham City, at the center of your power," Darkseid said calmly, his massive boot planted squarely on Batman's face, "do I have you at my mercy. So weak you are that your precious cowl and head are not even sturdy enough to support the full weight of my foot—I could kill you by the simple act of relaxing my leg and letting its entire weight crush your skull. "

"I've got a pretty thick head..."grunted Batman, glaring at Darkseid out of one eye. "Or... so I've been told."

"Insolence," said Darkseid musingly. "In the face of annihilation, you manage to remain fierce...an admirable quality. But, as you might have well figured —with that excellent brain of yours—it is not my wish to kill you...yet." he added politely.

"So what do you want?" Batman said gruffly, eyeing the giant boot on his face while his right arm slithered toward his belt. "Shine your shoes?"

"Oh, no no no..."chuckled Darkseid, he reached down to the horns of Batman's cowl and squeezed them between two enormous fingers, small electrical sparks spurt from the horns as they gave way under the pressure.

"That would be your radio, correct?" Darkseid said over the sporadic electrical hisses and splutters.

Batman only glared up at Darksied.

Darkseid smirked. "I'll take that as a yes." Darkseid lifted his foot off Batman and drifted over to the Joker's unconscious body. "Now that we aren't at risk to be overheard, I think it is time for the real party to begin...a real shame too, he would have enjoyed this next part." Darkseid said mildly, gazing down at the Joker.

Batman lumbered groggily up from the floor, his hand quickly flashing over a compartment in his belt. "So what kind of party do you have in mind?" he said, staring over as Darkseid stood beside the Joker, his back facing Batman.

"You'll see soon enough," said Darkseid. "I just wanted to make sure that your radio wouldn't ruin the surprise—and there'll be no use for those smoke pellets in your hands." He added calmly.

Batman eyed Darkseid carefully. He pocketed the bombs he had clutched underneath his palm.

"So that's why you destroyed my radio? You don't want me calling in reinforcements?" Batman said quietly, he lightly grazed a finger over the pulp remains of the radio lodged into the cowl's hollowed horns.

Darkseid turned around slowly, an odd smile plastered on his face. "I don't want you calling them off. The _reinforcements _are the main event."

And then all hell broke loose.

A great roar of thunder went off as great slabs of concrete crashed down from the ceiling, followed relentlessly by a loud _thump_ that shook the entire floor over. Batman yelped as he threw his body to the side as boulders of rebar and steel tumbled down his way, but he never hit the floor. As far as he knew he was sailing through the air endlessly, and over the racket of tumbling steel and rock, he thought he could make out the sound of steady beating wings. Thinking the blood loss was finally getting to him, he looked around wildly and froze at the slightly strained, but smiling, face of Shayera Hol.

"Judging by your appearance," she huffed, "I'd say we got here in the nick of time—you're heavier than you look."

"The armor," Batman grunted. "Adds 50 pounds."

"My excuse as well—He's hurt, put him down easily."

"Wait what are you—?"

Before he could finish speaking Shayera promptly dropped him in mid-air and she flew off, brilliant white wings beating powerfully behind her. He didn't have time to yell as another pair of hands caught him.

"What do you know?" chirped a new voice, "It's raining Bats and Dogs."

Batman grinned. He didn't need any other sign to let him know whose hands he had fallen into.

"Flash," Batman greeted calmly. "If Shayera is here, and you're here...that means that Superman is responsible for the ceiling blasting apart."

"With brains like that, you should be a detective."

Batman turned away from Wally's grinning face and craned his head to the center of the room—sure enough, Superman was standing dead-center in a crater whose spider-web cracks spread sporadically across the concrete floor. Overhead, chunks of rebar and rock toppled down from the ruptured ceiling, tumbling and splintering into pebbles as they landed at his feet. But Superman paid no attention, he was glaring at Darkseid, who looked like Christmas had come early.

"Funny," Flash murmured. "You'd think he'd be angry that we crashed his party."

"He's up to something. I just don't know what yet...put me down over here."

Flash carefully knelt beside a dusty set of scaffolding. Batman limped off and sank to floor, his back against the wall.

"The others?" Batman said gruffly, withdrawing medical tape from his belt and sizing it up with his teeth.

"J'onn and Lantern lagged it a bit, they couldn't leave without deactivating all of the bombs but they're both on their way as we speak."

"Diana?" Batman grunted as he bit off some tape.

Flash looked anxious.

"We haven't been able to reach her," he said, "We've been trying since Metropolis but..."

"So have I," Batman said heavily. "I lost her after those dogs jumped on me."

"Dogs?"

Batman nodded over to the three burnt figures across the room.

"Oh." Flash said quietly, he turned back to Batman. "Listen, don't worry about Diana, she's tough as nails and—"

"I'm not worried."

"Of course." said Flash, although Batman had a feeling Flash didn't truly believe him. "Ok. If you're not going to pass out on me, I'm going to go back into the fight. Shouldn't be too hard considering how easily he went down last time."

Batman leaned in close. "Be careful, Wally." He said in an undertone. "Something isn't right this time, it's almost as if he _wants _to lose."

Flash considered this for a moment before nodding solemnly. "I'll pass along the message to the others. Stay safe."

And he stood up and vanished at the spot, unseen in lighting speed, and reappeared at Superman's right flank. Shayera appeared at the left.

"Kryptonian. Speedster. Thanagarian." Darkseid greeted lightly. "I hope I find you all in reasonable health?"

"What are you doing here, Darkseid?" Shayera said abruptly.

"The conversation has not yet advanced to that topic yet, Thanagarian." Darkseid said quietly. "The formalities must be obeyed."

Flash snorted. "I think we're a little past the friendly 'how are you'."

"Such anger," Darkseid said disdainfully. "It won't do much good for any of us Speedster."

"You're stalling," said Superman suddenly.

Shayera and Flash both glanced sideways at Superman.

"Stalling?" Darkseid repeated mildly. "I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea what you speak of—"

"You're stalling" Superman repeated firmly. "And I'm not going to oblige you."

"I can accuse you of the same." Darkseid said calmly. "You are too cowardly to face me without the assistance of the Amazonian, the Green Lantern, and the Martian. Perhaps you are stalling for their arrival?"

"I'll give you one chance." Superman said, "Leave now, and this doesn't have to get ugly."

Darksied smirked.  
"You're bluffing."

"Three against one...does that sound like a bluff to you?"

Darkseid shrugged. "Yes it does, I doubt you'll do anything."

"Three against one, Darkseid!" Superman repeated, finality in his voice. "This is your one chance."

Flash's head twitched suddenly. "Hey," he said uncertainty. "Does anyone hear anything?"

Darkseid's smirk broadened. "Three against one is hardly fair. What do you say I even out the playing field?"

Batman's ears twitched as well. Something was buzzing up from the very floor they were sitting on. Batman immediately crouched low and limped quietly to a far corner, he was helpless and wouldn't damn good if it was another villain...

Flash rubbed at his ear annoyingly. "What is that buzz!?"

Doors all around the room burst open as droves of figures in stealth black armor and in doctor-white coats poured into the room, everyone moving in harmony, steady drum of boots hitting against the floor simultaneously, no yells of disagreement or direction, perfectly silent as the horde shuffled to create the three perfect rings around the trio and Darkseid. The first row bent to one knee and the second group hunched, leaving the third row standing up straight.

In one uniform wave of movement, they all drew their weapons, hands mechanically shifting left to right. The black armored individuals that Batman had beaten earlier carried automatic rifles in hand, the doctors carried pistols, and all of them had red-dot sights, which were currently trained on the three heads of the heroes at the center of the room.

In all, it took maybe 15 seconds.

"So," Darkseid said happily. "Shall we commence?"

And the splitting blast of gunfire went off.


	22. Dent

Batman knew a millisecond what was going to happen before it did, a tactic the League had adopted during any confrontation with firearms. Superman grabbed Shayera and shot straight into the air, leaving Flash to disappear at the spot. Batman's eyes couldn't keep up with the blitzing red blur, but he knew Flash's role and didn't have to look any farther than the goons' reactions.

Their guns were ripped from their hands by an invisible force, and before they had time to register that their guns were missing, the room was filled with shrieks of agony as entire sections of the horde shook violently—Shayera's electricity coursing through their bodies. The coordinated precision of the army was falling apart through the chaos, people were screaming out of pain or fear, bullets went off randomly, thugs were clamoring over each other to escape the invisible force of electricity. So great was the panic and chaos that nobody noticed the pile of discarded guns steadily forming on the floor. Then, as if on cue, Superman swooped down, his eyes bursting with red light as his heat vision slammed into the pile and melted the guns to a useless black pulp.

And then Batman's vision went black.

He knew he was in the air because his legs dangled freely, and he couldn't scream or yell, his chest was squeezed too tight. All he could do was squirm and kick around, his eyes searching frantically for any signs of light. He stopped fidgeting as soon as he heard the deep and baritone voice speak nearby.

"_STOP!_" shrieked Darkseid, "Or I execute The Dark Knight!"

And the room went deathly quiet. Batman couldn't see a damn thing through Darkseid's colossal hand, but he was sure every eye was trained on the two of them.

"You'll kill him anyway." Flash's voice called out. "We're not that stupid."

Batman would have grinned if not for the suffocating hand at his mouth.

"If I wanted the Bat dead." Darkseid said testily. "I could have easily squashed him into the ground long before your arrival."

"So then what do you want?" Superman said roughly. "Play more games?"

"Games?" Darkseid said with a small laugh. Batman could sense the bastard was smug. "What on earth do you mean—"

"Cut the bull," Superman snapped. "You won't fight yourself, but you let mortals take us on? You and I both know that we could take this room out with our eyes closed. What do you want?"

This was the question that nagged at Batman since The League first arrived. What did Darkseid want? He could have easily killed Batman earlier, they were alone, Batman was beyond damaged, and it would have taken him less than a second. Why wait for the League? Why make it a hard fight? Any second J'onn and Lantern would arrive and that would push the prospects for him even further...what was there to gain by having the entire group here?

Before Batman could delve deeper, another voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Let him go, Darkseid." Diana said quietly, "Or I send us, along with the entire building, to the next life."

Batman felt Darkseid's body twitch.

"Diana!" Flash blurted aloud, "When the heck did you get here! I didn't even hear you—!"

"Is that really vital information right now, Flash?" said Shayera through clenched teeth.

"You're bluffing." Darkseid said simply, speaking as if he hadn't heard the side conversation. "A for effort."

"She isn't bluffing," said yet another voice, "We'll incinerate this place."

"Green Lantern!" Darkseid said warmly, "So good enough for you to join us...that leaves the Martian..."

"We're not kidding." Diana said bluntly. "If you don't let him go and leave, we'll take out this entire city section."

"And kill all those _innocent lives?_" Darkseid simpered sympathetically. "Only a monster would do such a thing."

"If it means killing you for good." said Diana, Batman could imagine her shrugging, "I'll take those odds."

"Ah. Kill one, save a thousand type of deal?" Darkseid said kindly.

"Something like that."

"Well. I see that you all have left me no choice."

Batman gasped as Darkseid balled his fist tighter, bones snapped and crunched and his left arm cracked. He would have screamed at the top of his lungs if he had any air, but all he could do was writhe and thrash, his arms and legs trembling violently from the torment that his body was flailing under...

And then the pain lessened. Batman's vision cleared as Darkseid dropped him to the floor. He blinked blankly a few times, disoriented by the echoing agony, and slowly his vision came back to him, faintly discerning the nearby figures of the group; Flash and Shayera were both standing while Superman, Lantern and Diana were hovering in mid-air. Diana had her lasso in hand and a small black box in the other. Darkseid was right; J'onn was nowhere to be seen.

Behind the group, Darkseid's army was waiting patiently, some had retained their guns, but most were looking at the pile of steaming firearms ruefully.

Darkseid looked down at him. He was smiling again. He gently thumped Batman's cowl.

"Kill him."

And then the volley of gunfire went off again.

Immediately John shot out a stream of green light that coalesced into a sphere around Batman. Bullets tore into the shield, ripping at the green sphere with the savagery of wolves, but they didn't penetrate. That wasn't to say the sound wasn't deafening. A barrage of bullets smacking into anything isn't pleasant to hear, and Batman nearly went deaf from the racket.

Before he knew, he was flying though the air again, this time black glossy hair greeted him. He moved to see her face but a hand slapped his gaze away.

"Keep your head down!" Diana hissed over gunfire. "Everyone in this room is trying to kill you!"

"Mmggh." Batman grunted. He was too tired to muster up any retort, keeping his eyes open was trouble enough. They were flying at incredible speed, where they were going he had no idea, but the sound of gunfire was sounding father and father away. Which was a good thing, because he doubted he could take any more abuse; his bones felt like glass and his entire body was aching...he dimly noticed that his left arm had altogether stopped hurting...

"Try to relax," she said calmly, "The others are taking care of the guns and thugs. We'll just stay quiet until we can evacuate the building."

"Huh?" Batman said groggily.

"Evacuate. Get the people out." She repeated. "We're going to blow the building up."

"You...you were serious?" he said weakly.

"Yes. And it was your Grandfather who gave me the idea."

This, if anything, shot new life through Bruce.

"_WHAT?" _he said, bewildered. "My grandfather? When did you..._How _did you_?_"

"William Wayne—you're grandfather!" She said impatiently, "Here, I'm going to sit you down..."

Bruce grunted as she gently laid him onto the floor.

"How did you talk to my grandfather?" he said skeptically. "He's been dead for years in case you didn't know—And where are we?" he added as he looked around, he could still hear the gunfire, they didn't sound too far.

"It was Alfred, he told me about how he rammed a ship into an even larger ship," she said as she began to examine his injuries. "And we're one floor below the fight."

"Ahh..." said Batman. "So how do you plan to sink a ship into this building...Diana?"

But Diana wasn't listening. She looked deeply anxious as she lifted the hastily applied medical tape from his wounds.

"My god, Bruce," Diana said shakily, peeling away the blood-stained gauze of his left arm. "You're...you're hurt bad..."

She gently touched the arm, which now looked mangled beyond repair. He winced.

"At least I can feel the pain again." Batman panted. "That's a good sign."

Her eyes traveled down his body, and he couldn't blame her reaction. This was the first time he was able to fully take stock of himself.

He looked like hell. His suit was gashed and his armored plates chipped; pieces dangled here and there, and there was a generous quantity of red blood splattered distinctly against the black armor.

Diana gently touched his face, her fingers gently traced over his lips and chin.

"Your lips are blue," she said, "And your face is paler than snow." She blinked a few times before returning to his body, "Your suit...there's _so much blood_ on your suit..."

"Oh. Some of that's not mine."

Diana didn't laugh.

"I'll be fine." He said firmly. "Right now you need to tell me where you're going to get a ship to sink this building, because if you haven't noticed, we're not near..."

Batman's eyes widened.

"The Watchtower..." he said faintly.

Diana nodded silently.

"My god that's brilliant." Batman breathed. "But—but you're going to destroy half the city when it impacts."

She shook her head. "John says he can contain the blast with his ring. Says that he can keep it within the buildings parameters."

"But that might not be enough." Batman said, "If you want to destroy Darkseid you're going to need a huge bang to finish him off for good."

Diana grinned. She jerked her head toward the center of the room.

Batman raised an eyebrow before craning his head around her. "What am I supposed to be see...oh."

Neat stacks of what looked like 100 oil-drums were laid at the center.

"Those were the explosives at the two buildings J'onn and Lantern deactivated," she said. "I told John to bring them here."

"Wow..." Batman said softly. "Who is the bait?"

"Bait?" Diana repeated.

"Well Darkseid isn't going to stay put is he?" Batman said. "You're going to need someone to stay so that he'll stay put for the explosion."

"There's no bait." She said. "We're just going to pull out at the last possible second."

"How long will you guys have?"

"Ten second warning."

Batman whistled. "Cutting it a little short aren't' you?"

"Any more time and Darkseid would catch on." Diana said. "The Watchtower will have its cloaking device on so nobody will see it coming. We're counting on our super speed to get us out. John will be the last one out since he'll turn around and contain the blast."

Batman mulled the plan over and shook his head in disbelief. "You're seriously scary. You know that?"

Diana had a maniacal glint in her eye. "I learned from the best," she said wolfishly, and she kissed him. And everything seemed to slide away: the pain, the torment, the torture; it was nothing compared to Diana. He didn't care that he was sitting underneath an enormous battle, or that his body was damaged beyond repair, all that mattered was Diana and her powerful lips against his.

She pulled away, drawing a groan of protest from him, "Just hang in there for a little longer, we're almost through."

"You got it." He said tiredly. "Go get em."

She nodded and shot into the air, leaving Batman to his thoughts.

He followed her figure until she passed his line of sight and ascended back up to the top floor. Over the shouts and screams of thugs, he could make out her voice shouting and yelling to the others...and by the sound of the roaring baritone grunts, Darkseid himself had entered the fray.

Batman itched to pick himself up and enter the fight, but a human being had limits, and Diana was right: he had lost a dangerous amount of blood. He hated waiting on the sidelines, but the League had it under control more or less.

And that's where Harvey Dent exited out of the elevator. He was wearing a designer suit that split-down the middle with two different colors: grey on left and red on the right. It was an odd choice, Batman thought, he looked more like a circus act than a lawyer.

Harvey didn't see Batman, who was lying perfectly vulnerable and helpless in a corner, but moved along past him. He didn't even seem to pay much attention to the oil drums either. He moved purposely across the room and paused right before the stairwell; he reached into his breast pocket and drew a .45 magnum pistol, along with a half-dollar coin.

Batman was highly curious about what a missing Gotham City District Attorney was doing at the scene of a massive brawl.

Batman was about to call out to Harvey to warn him off when Harvey tossed his coin into the air and he arched his neck to follow its trajectory, and that's where Batman lost all train of thought.

Harvey's face was burnt, badly burnt. Half of his face looked like a skeleton with meat on it while the other half remained unscathed...and Batman realized that the suit wasn't originally designed in that manner, like Harvey, it was burnt half-across his body.

Harvey caught the coin and looked at it for a beat second. He grinned wildly and cocked his gun, setting up the stairwell with frenzied purpose.

Batman didn't know what to make of that. All he knew was that his key to retirement just walked into a for sure death trap. With his arms and legs beat, he reached into his belt and drew his grappling gun, pointed it at a gap in the ceiling, and pulled the trigger. The hook grabbed and Batman tied the cord around his belt, and enjoyed the ride up.

He clamored up onto the floor and the scene in front of him was so filled with blurs and frantic images that he nearly passed out from the exhaustion of keeping up with it all.

It was an immense battle. Thugs and doctors alike were spun stupidly on their feet as Flash darted in between all of them, smacking and punching at a frenzied pace; Shayera circled in the air and plunged down into the confused horde with her mace blistering with sparks, they shrieked and screeched in pain, at which John's ring would morph effortlessly from boxing glove to shield to anvil, slamming into the electrified thugs and rendering them unconscious.

Superman and Diana, meanwhile, had Darkseid all to themselves, exchanging thunderous blows without breaking a sweat. She weaved in and out like water, dodging and countering with such precision that it had to be rehearsed. Darkseid growled and roared as the two meta-humans attacked from both fronts, unable to move in any direction as Superman delivered an ironclad punch from west while Diana flew in with a devastating kick from the east.

Everyone was so busy that they didn't notice Harvey Dent slither in on the sidelines, everyone but Batman. He watched as Harvey passed everyone until he came to a distant corner. What was he doing there? Batman didn't understand. Did Harvey just want to watch?

But then Harvey drew near an unconscious body, a body with a purple coat and clown make-up...

Batman suddenly had a very good idea what Harvey was doing here. He tried to scream out to Harvey, but his voice was lost amongst cries and hollers of the chaotic battle in front of him, he could only watch as Harvey drew out his pistol and aimed it at the head of the Joker. But Harvey wouldn't do it surely? The Joker captured and processed could be ground-breaking in the fight against the Mob, it would be the final key...

And then a voice spoke so clearly in his mind that he could have sworn the person was right next to him.

"It is falling." J'onn's monotone voice said. "10 seconds until impact."

At the words "It is falling". Time seemed to slow down...Batman reached one hand into his belt and the other gripped the grappling gun. In one fluid movement he withdrew a batarang and flung it toward the battle, his other hand drew the gun and fired the grapple toward Harvey and The Joker.

Batman turned away before he could see it hook, he turned his attention back to the battle and to the batarang; it soared over the heads of thugs and spun farther and farther until it sliced cleanly into Diana's forearm. Her face was frozen in concentration, Batman suspected she just received J'onn's message, before gasping in pain. She stared down in disbelief at the item wedged in her arm and then realization hit her face; her eyes frantically scanned the room and her eyes found his. She planted her feet into the ground and shot forward like a bullet toward him. Batman felt the jolt of the grapple gun; somebody was hooked, and without pausing to see who it was, he hinged it to his belt and jumped into the air. Diana blazed forward and caught his body. Together they soared out of the building.

Looking down at the end of his cable, Batman could see The Joker flapping like a rag-doll in the wind.


	23. Ash

Superman could have smacked John on the back as they clamored over the remains of the building...which was quite a large amount. 19 of the 25 floors remained, and those floors looked entirely unblemished, expect for the large amount of ash, there was piles and piles of that.

"We did it..."Superman said weakly, staring at the mountain of ash in front of them. "I don't see him anywhere."

"I think we did..."Shayera said, "It worked...didn't it?"

"All thanks to my little Green Lantern" Shayera said, kissing John on the mouth. "Woah...you don't look so hot."

"Don't feel so hot," mumbled John, swaying at the spot, his eyelids trembling dangerously. "My head is pounding..."

"Easy there, big guy." Flash said. "Sit down man, you just contained the equivalent of 2 megatons of TNT."

"Really?" John said mildly. "That's interesting..."

"I think he should get some rest," said Superman nervously. "That was quite a load he kept..."

Batman was watching from afar, physically unable to join in the celebration. He was on his knees, coughing up blood. Diana was patching up what she could.

"We need to get you medical attention." Diana said worriedly, "You're going to die if we don't get you somewhere."

"Need to finish the Job." He said through a mouthful of blood. He spat to his left, where on the ground, lying there, unconscious, unknowing, and ungrateful, was The Joker. That's who he had saved. He saved The Joker over Harvey Dent. A maniac over a Hero. Murder over Justice.

So much for his retirement, Batman thought solemnly; with Dent gone, there went the cases against the mob, there went hundreds of bruises, weeks of fighting, months of planning, years of training, decades of searching...a lifetime of waiting. Gone.

"You did your best," she said quietly,. "There was nothing more you could do."

Batman stayed silent.

"Please tell me you aren't blaming yourself," she said. "You and I both know that there was nothing else you could—"

"Can I borrow your Lasso?" he asked suddenly.

Diana frowned. "My Lasso? What for?"

Batman kicked the unconscious form of the Joker. "I want some answers."

Diana sighed. "What kind of answers do you expect to obtain out of a psychopath?"

"He knew something was up." Batman said, emotionless. "I want to know what he knows."

Diana watched him intently for a few seconds, she nodded silently. "Ok."

She removed the golden lasso from her hip and tightened it around The Joker. She looked to Batman. He nodded.

She jerked the lasso tight and said, with a new authority in her voice, "Wake up! I seek answers that you contain!"

The Joker's eyes blinked slowly for a few seconds before darting at the faces of the League, who had come to watch. His face split into a broad smile.

"_Why, hello—"_

"Save it," snapped Diana, tugging viciously at the Lasso. "You will speak only when spoken to."

The Joker eyed the lasso, licking his lips rebelliously and he wagged his eyebrows. "One of those _freaky_ girls, eh?"

"Who were you working for?" Batman said abruptly.

The Joker eyed Batman disdainfully, "My boss."

"Who is your boss?"

"My employer."

"What is the name of your employer?"

"Sal Maroni."

Batman's knuckles popped. The Joker was beaming.

"You know..._I really like you_," The Joker said softly. "I really do. I think you and I, Batman...I think you and I are destined to do this game of Cat-and-mouse forever. "

"You're going to see the inside of 4-padded cell, forever" said Diana venomously.

"_Hey, hey, hey!_" The Joker said sweetly, "There's plenty of room for all of us at Arkham...we'll be cozy roommates."

"You're raving, Clown." Diana said disdainfully, "Listen, Batman, we aren't going to get anything out of this idiot—"

"We'll see who the idiots are..."The Joker said slyly, "When the police come to arrest you..."

"Arrest us?" Diana repeated. "For saving the city? Oh yes, I forgot about the heavy fine of—"

"Oh no, no, no, no," The Joker said happily, "For killing the good doctors of Gotham."

"_Doctors_?" Superman said with a laugh. "You mean those idiot thugs who wore lab-coats?"

"Look like doctors though, don't they?" The Joker said, smiling madly. "And on poor video cameras, like the ones in this place...you'd have a hard time figuring out who is who...wouldn't' cha?"

"How do you know about the cameras?" Diana said quickly.

"The ones that Commissioner Gordon showed you, you mean?" The Joker said gleefully, "Those right?"

"But the real doctors are fine, they aren't dead." Superman stated defiantly. "So there's no proof."

The Joker's eye glinted with delight. "Sure about that are you? I doubt you can find a piece of those _real _doctors now. So think about it...The League fighting Doctors...and then, guess what!? The building blows up!"

"But...Darkseid was there," Flash said. "He was controlling them and he was—"

"Did you ever notice kid," The Joker said slowly. "That Baldy never _moved_ from his position?"

"He did when he grabbed Batman." said Diana quickly.

"Ah, my dear idiotic woman, as Bats can attest—he didn't see Darkseid coming."

Which was true, Batman thought. Darkseid used his blinding speed to grab him...speed that a crappy camera surely wouldn't pick up...

"So that's why you made it so easy for us to find you." Batman said slowly, "You wanted to use that building..."

"If I could clap, I would." The Joker said cheerfully, struggling at his bonds. "But as you can see..."

Batman glared at the Joker. "So all this." He signaled to the burnt building with his hand. "It was all just to get The League?"

The Joker smirked. "Yep, and my inside lawyer-man, Harvey...well, to be fair, he isn't exactly a man anymore...more like a roasted chicken...he was the one who made sure that police officer had access to that video feed..."

"Why would Harvey do that!?" Diana said, aghast. "He's our friend!"

The Joker shivered with pleasure, "Oh I don't think he's so friendly now..."

Batman stared at the Joker, horrified at the idea coming to mind.

"What did you do...?"

The Joker grinned, all his yellow teeth exposed. "I took Gotham's White Knight...and I brought him down to our level..."

"Don't be so jealous, Bats," The Joker simpered. "It was _my _idea...you see...if you want to destroy somebody...you don't go after _them_...you go after what they _care for..._and then..."The Joker licked his lips with sadistic pleasure. "and then you've got yourself a show..."

"Rachel, in other words." Diana said flatly, "You killed Rachel to get to him."

The Joker leered at Batman, "She's a smart one, eh?"

Everyone looked up at a sound that blared up: Police sirens.

"Looks like they're coming for us!" The Joker said gleefully, "Who wants to share beds?"

"They'll believe us surely?" Superman said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, they know we wouldn't do such a thing..."

"In their eyes, we just murdered 50 Doctors in cold blood." Batman said quietly.

"But—but they know that we wouldn't do such thing, right!?" Flash said in a kind of panic, looking around wildly "I mean we've done so much, surely they'll understand."

"So that's why Darkseid was so eager to talk...he was waiting for you guys to show up..." Batman said quietly, talking mostly to himself. "He wanted us to fight against the doctors..."

"Yep." The Joker said brightly, suddenly becoming very wide-eyed. "It was all my idea too..._heheheheeheheheheheheheheheh ehhehhehe!"_

"Shut-up clown!" Shayera yelled, kicking him as hard she could. But The Joker would not stop laughing, his cackling increased until he was all but shrieking with laughter.

Batman slammed his boot heel into The Joker's mouth, "_Shut up!"_

The Joker spat some blood, "MAKE ME! _HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!_"

They were all so distracted by his laughter they didn't hear the steady sound of footsteps behind them.

"What the hell is so funny, dammit!" Batman growled, grabbing the Joker by the collar.

"Hehehehe...remember that surprise I told you about earlier?" The Joker said, his eyes twitching.

"You've already spoiled it with Darkseid you idiot." Flash said aloud.

The Joker beamed. "I wasn't talking about Darkseid...I made a deal you see...with one very, very, very disgruntle, District Attorney."

Before Batman could make sense of this, a gunshot barked through the air.

Wally jerked violently, and crumpled to the floor.

"_WALLY!"_

Another gunshot went off. The Joker's head snapped back.

"CLARK! GET WALLY OUT OF HERE NOW!"

Another gunshot went off.

"_JOHN!"_

"Shayera, no!"

Batman dropped the Joker and whirled around. The world was slow again: there was Dent, fully burnt now, his suit smoking and his face completely void of skin. Batman dimly noticed that the steel container Darkseid had was currently lying in the middle of the ash mountain; Dent must have jumped in there to survive. There was blood on the ground, lots of it. Wally and Clark weren't in sight; they must be on route to the hospital already; there's Shayera, she's holding John's head in her hands...but he's not moving...why isn't John moving?

And there's Diana. She must have been the one who told Clark to take Wally, because her hands are filled with blood, maybe she helped pick him up.

Dent was moving, he raised his arm again...he has a gun...he's pointing it at Diana...but Diana was screaming at Shayera...Diana wasn't paying attention...

And red hot anger roared throughout Batman, in that instant all he knew was that he was flying through the air, his gauntlets extended outward, every fiber in his body wanted to rip Harvey to shreds for hurting his friends, for even thinking about hurting Diana. Harvey saw Batman coming. He pulled his arm back and pointed it to Batman, but Batman didn't care, Bruce didn't care.

Batman's forearms sunk into Harvey.

A gunshot went off.


	24. TW

Somebody was screaming...somebody needed his help...it was a woman...he tried to get up to help her...but he couldn't...she needed help...he couldn't open his eyes...

"_Bruce!"_

"It's 'k ," he slurred, "I'm guna help you..."

Somebody was slapping his face.

"_No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" _The woman pleaded. "_Bruce, please!"_

"Die...Die..." he tried to speak, but it was so hard. His chest hurt so much.

"_No, Bruce, you're not dying. Everything is ok."_

No, she didn't understand.

He tried again. "Die...Die..."

"_No, no, no Bruce, don't think that, we're going—"_

"Die-ana...Die-ana..._Diana...Diana..._"

He opened his eyes. There she was. Hunched over him. She was crying.

"Bruce..." she said weakly, tears falling down from her eyes. "You're going to be fine ok..."

"Diana..." he said worriedly. Why was she crying? Was she hurt? "Diana, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Bruce. Just be quiet ok? We're going to get help."

"Wally?" he croaked. "John?"

Diana shook her head. "I don't know...they took off to the hospital."

"Oh," Bruce said. "Dent?"

Diana shook her head, and this time Bruce understood.

"They'll blame you," he said quietly. "For what's happened."

"What?" she said, confused, more tears were falling now. "Bruce, just—just save your energy, I'm going to take you to a hospital."

"The murders," he said, his voice was thick and hoarse. "If you go down for the murders, everything will go back to the way it was."

Diana was staring at him, she was beautiful even when she cried.

"I don't want that..." Bruce said, and he knew he sounded scared. "Diana, I—I don't want that..."

Diana looked at him and she shook her head silently.

"I...I can't do that...I can't do that you..."

"Yes you can." he said gently, "Because I love this city...and I love you...and you both need to be safe."

"Bruce, I..."

"I was with Darkseid for 5 minutes, talking alone. I was behind it all...I killed Wally...I killed John...I killed Harvey—"

"No..." she said thickly, tears falling freely now. "You're not a killer, Bruce...We're—we're going to go to the hospital and we're going to visit our friends..."

It was getting cold. His legs were cold. His chest was cold.

"Bruce..._please..._"

He held out his hand and she gripped it. "Diana..." he said slowly, he swallowed and his hand began to shake.

It was getting harder to breath.

"_Diana..."_ he whispered.

* * *

It was dark. It was cold, and he was shivering. His back felt warm, oddly enough. He turned around. A small beam of light was shining, and it was warm...warmer than anything he'd ever felt. He felt safe in that warmth, he felt like nothing could hurt him...nothing at all...

A man was approaching. At first Bruce could only see the silhouette, but as the man grew larger and larger, the features became more defined, shapening into the image of a handsome man in his 50's, with grey hair and warm eyes. He knelt down next to Bruce.

"Well done, Bruce." whispered Thomas Wayne, looking over his son with unmistakable pride. "Well done."

Bruce swelled at his father's words; words he longed to hear for 24 years...

"You've been extraordinary." Thomas said softly, and Thomas' eyes became cloudy. "Simply extraordinary..."

Bruce smiled. He didn't know what to say, he was just happy that his dad was here, if this was a dream, he didn't want it to end, because it was such a nice departure from the usual nightmares.

"We can go home now, if you like." Thomas said gently, he nodded over to the light behind him. "Your mother is waiting for you."

His mother, she was waiting for him. His heart was thumping in his chest excitedly as Bruce slowly craned over his father's shoulder...there it was again, the light. He raised his arm hesitantly into the air, and it was wonderful ecstasy the moment the beam fell upon his arm. His entire sense of being radiated with delight and happiness, and any doubt or fear was washed away...and that was just from his arm...

"Will you come with me?" Bruce whispered, as if telling a secret.

Thomas' eyes twinkled, "If you want me to."

Bruce eyed the light one last time... "OK"

Thomas smiled and hoisted his son up into the air, as easily and quickly as if Bruce was made of feathers. His father twirled him high up in the air, and Bruce laughed at the feeling of the wind press up against his face, and his heart was bursting with delight as his father's strong and sturdy hands raised him into sight with that warm and comfortable glow. Thomas lowered and cradled Bruce in his arms, they began walking forward together, and as they left the cold and the dark, Bruce couldn't help but gaze up at his father's face with wide, bright eyes; Thomas Wayne was here, his father was here, and he was in his father's arms. Is this all a dream? Bruce thought; If it is, please, Alfred, don't wake him up yet. This was magical. This was wonderful.

Bruce yawned and rubbed his eyes, he was feeling very tired now, for some reason, and the light they were going toward was so warm. It seemed to quiver in the distance, and Bruce had the sudden thought that the light was just as anxious to see him as well.

"I've got you, Bruce..." his Dad whispered to him. "You can go to sleep...I'll wake you when we get there..."

Bruce closed his eyes and rested his head on his father's chest, listening to the quiet and steady beat of Thomas' heart as sleep quietly over took him. He was with his Dad, Bruce reasoned faintly, nothing could hurt him...nothing at all...he was going home...

And for the first time in 24 years, as Bruce Wayne closed his eyes and drifted into sleep, the fear of a nightmare failed to cross his mind.


	25. Orphans

Blood dries quick when you travel at supersonic speed.

Superman was unaware of this bleak fact until he passed a mirror on his way out of the E.R. Wally's blood was stained and flickered across Superman's torso, bits flaked and chipped at here and there, almost as if someone had deliberately done a bad job at dyeing his suit. Walking out in the lobby he knew instantly how odd a figure he was in a hospital, which was odd because he was certain that a hospital would be filled with bleeding and dying patients. But instead, in a place where the colors on the walls were all neutral and plain and the people were all dressed in plains day clothes, he must have stuck out like a sore thumb. All around him he could feel the eyeballs of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters glued to him with keen interest. They were whispering in hushed voices and it was only a matter of time before they hurried forward, gushing about how big a fan they were and if they could get him to sign a stupid napkin.

Superman took off before the wolves closed in on him. He wanted to stay with Wally, but there was nothing else he could do for him, medically speaking, and that was the Batman thing to do—make the tough decisions for the good of others. And right now Superman needed to make sure that Diana and Batman weren't beating Dent to a pulp, although a dark corner of his mind was all too eager to join in.

So when he closed in on the Prewitt building, the first thing that caught his attention was Harvey Dent, or rather, Harvey Dent's corpse; spread-eagled on the ashes, a steady pool of blood collecting at his chest. But Superman didn't linger on Harvey's corpse for long. As soon as he touched down onto the building he turned away from corpse of Gotham City's White Knight, turned a deaf ear toward the wailing cries of police sirens. Instead, Clark focused his attention on the soft and gentle sobs of the woman keeling a few feet away. She had her back toward him and she was suspended over a body, a body that was suited in what used to be black and smooth armor, but now it was stained with white ash, chipped, torn, and mangled. She had the head and torso rested in her lap, the legs lay on the ground, perfectly still.

Clark slowly walked up to her and he knew she heard him because the ground crunched with every footstep, but she made no move to acknowledge his presence, she remained knelt down, her black glossy hair falling over her face and the face of the battered and mangled black-suited body. Clark cautiously placed his hand on her shoulder, and he was grateful that she didn't snap at him. He stayed quiet for another minute, listening to her steady sobs and the sound of the police sirens drawing nearer. He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "We have to go." he said, his voice soundly oddly hoarse, as if he hadn't used his voice in centuries. "They're coming."

But she didn't answer him, she remained perfectly still, just like Bruce Wayne was still.

"There's nothing we can do," Clark said gently, and now his eyes began to burn. "We have to go."

Again, she ignored him, and Clark couldn't bring himself to anger. He knew this wasn't the right course of action, he knew that they needed to get as far away from the place as possible. He knew he should shout and yell. It's what Batman would do. And then, without preamble or warning, Batman's leg twitched, and Clark's heart leapt with joy as images of Batman blinking and groggily waking up overcame him. Batman was the stubborn survivor, how could Clark ever for moment believe that he would actually roll over and die? It was absurd. It was impossible.

He lifted his hand from Diana and automatically stepped backward, because any moment now Batman was going to lumber up and mutter how stupid they were for believing in something as ludicrous and impossible as death.

But Batman didn't wake up. His leg twitched because Diana was gently lifting Bruce's body from the ground. His legs dangled freely as she rose to her feet and his right arm swung down like a pendulum, his lifeless fingers gently swayed in the air until they too became quite still. With her back still toward him, Clark couldn't see the rest of the Bruce's body, but from the movement of her shoulder he was sure that Bruce's head was cradled into her chest.

"I'm going to take him home," she announced suddenly. "I'll be at the hospital shortly."

"You can't go there," he said tiredly. "Doctors are obliged to report gun-shot wounds. The police will have blocked off access to Wally. They'll want to question him if he wakes..._when_ he wakes, I mean..."

Diana nodded and she shifted uncomfortably. "Alright..." and her voice became slightly higher, "I'll be at the Manor if you need me then."

The ache in her voice struck him hard. He was always a softie for pain, something Batman annoyingly pointed out on several occasions. Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "It wasn't your fault, Diana."

Diana let out a half sob, half bitter laugh, and she shook her head sadly. "That's what I told him."

Clark could hear the police opening and shutting their doors, the steady sound of footsteps trudging up steps. "I'll be with Lois if you need me," he said. "She knows more about law than I do."

Diana shook her head. "He said to pin it on him, Clark..." she said softly. "The murders...everything...he said it was what he wanted."

Clark blinked a few times. "Pin it on him?" he said slowly, because he must have misheard her. "You mean..."

"Yes," she said firmly. "He begged me...so that's what we're going to do."

Clark heard the finality in her voice. There would be no questioning this.

"Well...I'll just..." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I'll just talk to others to get the story straight...I'll call you at the manor."

The footsteps were growing louder, the police had to be only a few floors below now.

They both rose in the air, and Diana spun slowly because Wayne Manor was in the opposite direction. Her face wasn't puffy like he half expected it to be, her eyes weren't even red. She looked quite calm. He glanced down, Bruce was entirely limp, the cowl was removed and his eyes were closed, he might have been sleeping.

Clark grimaced. "Stay safe, Diana."

It was all he could manage because seeing Bruce's limp body was too much. He looked away from the two of them, not caring or paying attention on what he was looking at. He distantly heard Diana mumble something in return and then she set off into the night. Without looking back Clark drifted off into the Gotham night, his mind fixated on his friends. He numbingly replayed the gunshots in his mind, he could see Wally falling down...John falling down...Clark didn't know how long he lingered in the air, but his nose picked up the smell of wet grass and flowers. He reached his hand out and didn't pay attention on what he grabbed, because he was in the air again, and his eyes were shifting in and out of focus. He flew for a few seconds, or maybe it was a few hours, he didn't know. The only thing he did know was that his feet touched down on cold cement, and his body was quivering with a sense of wrong-doing, because he was trespassing on sacred ground.

Clark moved silently down the cement, and he leaned against the graffiti stricken walls, gazing patiently at the single streetlamp that shone brilliantly in the darkness of the alley. Clark closed his eyes and he bowed his head, because it was here at this spot that Thomas and Martha Wayne lost their lives...

Clark lowered the rose he had picked and gently laid on the ground, right at center of the brilliant yellow light that made the cement appear shabbier and bumpier than usual. It looked odd. The rose was such a beautiful thing, and it was placed on such an ugly backdrop.

He left without saying a word, he didn't need to, nor did he want to, because Batman was not a man of many words. He would have like that, Clark thought; but of course, he would never truly know, because Bruce Wayne was gone.

Clark rose into the air, and he slowly ascended over the streets and nightlife of Gotham City, his extraordinary sense of hearing could pick up the bubbling laughter of kids playing, the blaring honks of traffic, even the silent murmur of an elderly man humming a soft tune...

He never felt so full of life, and, at the same time, he never felt so alone. Until now, it never occurred to him how similar he and Bruce Wayne truly were...both orphans...both outsiders...both men with extraordinary talents.

He set off for Lois' house, and amidst the chatter of Gotham's night life, he thought he could hear the faint screech of a Bat in the air.

Or maybe it was the wind.

* * *

**_Sorry for that cliff-hanger, I know it was a horrible and evil thing for me to do...but in the words of Jack Sparrow:_**_couldn't resist mate._


	26. Harvey Dent Day

_**10**__**th**__** Anniversary of Harvey Dent Day.**_

_Everything changed the night Harvey Dent died._

_In a single decade, Gotham City, once the reigning champ of corruption and crime, has seen a historic turn around; People walk the streets during the day and night without so much as looking over their shoulders, drugs and gambling has become a thing of the past, and the sound of a police siren has become something of a myth._

_Harvey Dent, on the other hand, has become legend._

_The days after his death were a myriad of rumors and stories that seemed so outlandish that no one in their right mind would believe...but how wrong could you be._

_The World was knocked of its feet as the intergalactic crime-fighting organization known as The Justice League testified passionately how Harvey Dent, still recovering from horrific burn injuries, had valiantly strode into the Prewitt Building, how he boldly faced the fiercest double-act in history: The Clown Prince of Crime AKA The Joker and Darkseid, ruler of the bleak planet, Apocalypse.._

_With the assistance of The Flash (later revealed as Wally West, a young scientist from Central City), Shayera Hol, The Green Lantern (Former U.S. Combat Marine, John Stewart), Princess Diana of Amazon, and The Man of Steel himself, Harvey Dent jumped into a battle for the ages, guns and fists clashed as they fought for the lives of not only Gotham's citizens, but the world's. They fought gritty and hard, and proved too much of a match for The Joker and Darkseid, and just when the last thug fell, the last gun snapped, the battle seemed won...The League and Harvey rejoiced, happy, and vibrant..._

_And completely unaware of what was to happen next._

_The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, The Batman...this vigilante that, for half a decade, Gotham City played host to was known by many names, but after the events that took place, he is today better known as a Murderer._

_Wally West, John Stewart, Harvey Dent; three extraordinary men, three extraordinary lives cut short._

_Shayera Hol, testifying with tears in her eyes, amidst rumors of a romantic relationship between herself and John Stewart, quietly recanted the heartbreaking events that took place that night; how Batman gunned down the very people he worked alongside with for years, how he cackled with laughter as Wally and John collapsed to the ground, how his eyes blazed with cruel delight as he murdered his own treasured accomplice, The Joker, with a gunshot to the head._

_It was here that Princess Diana, an emissary of Amazon and one of the most respected female figures in the public eye, quietly comforted Shayera Hol, who struggled to finish the account, and stepped in her place. The world listened with a mixture of horror and fascination as Batman turned the gun on Diana, how she was too busy struggling to contain her allies' bleeding wounds to defend herself. She describes that all hoped seemed lost until she heard a lion-like roar, and Harvey Dent charged The Batman, completely disregarding his welfare for the safety of his friends. It was here that the Batman laughed coldly and tossed his firearm to the side, instead drawing a knife and sliced cleanly into Dent. Before Diana or Superman could put down their dying friends' bodies, a gust of smoke ballooned into the air, nobody could see, nobody could breathe, and after the air cleared, there was Harvey Dent, lying on the ground._

_The Batman was nowhere to be seen._

_The Justice League immediately cried out in shame and begged the world for forgiveness, they tragically recounted how, a year earlier, they were forced to expel Batman over his incessant and unethical methods, how they were ashamed that they hadn't read the signs earlier, how they should have realized that Batman was merely waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike..._

_But Gotham didn't punish The League, they weren't the enemy or at fault, they too, were duped. Just like Gotham City was duped, for placing their trust in a murdered and a thug. At Harvey's funeral, where he was bestowed with all the honors available to a servant of the U.S. Court, Commissioner Gordon himself sadly stated that, "Harvey wouldn't have done it. He would have understood. The League lost two of their own. Let them mourn."_

_And at those words, as Harvey Dent was lowered next to the grave of his fiancée Gotham City Attorney Rachel Dawes, another victim of the cruelty of The Joker and The Batman and Darkseid, the world seemed to stop spinning for that moment, everyone paying their respects to their fallen warriors..._

_And yet, ten years after the day when Harvey Dent tragically lost his life, his message of peace and bravery lives on; crime stats have never been lower, in Gotham and the World...everyone, it seems, has taken Harvey's crusade against crime and terror to heart. The need for heroes like The League has diminished to the point where they themselves have gone into retirement. Superman has only been seen sporadically, and rarely is it a crime issue, only appearing to help with natural disasters and freak accidents. Shayera Hol, what most believe is in honor of her fallen boyfriend, has joined the United States Military as an advisor and psychiatrist, focusing on soldiers suffering from Post-traumatic-stress-disorder, something John Stewart was particularly vocal about. The most interesting of all the heroes, however, is Princess Diana, who is now CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Many believe she was given this possession after Bruce Wayne's Will (Bruce tragically died three days after Harvey's Death in an automobile accident, his alcohol level reportedly 3 times the normal limit) revealed that he wanted The Justice League to maintain ownership of his company when he passed. Bruce Wayne was an avid Harvey Dent supporter, and many believe he gave his company to the League as a token of gratitude for their unwavering stance against crime and evil.)_

_Despite all the reason to celebrate, bitter souls would point out that to this day, The Batman, murderer of Wally West, John Stewart, Harvey Dent, and 50 Gotham City Doctors, remains at large and unaccounted for his crimes. But Harvey wouldn't want us to linger on that fact, he would want us to step outside and enjoy the sunshine, he would want us to enjoy the fruits of his labor._

_When faced with a difficult decision, when we are faced between good and evil, right and wrong, let us remember Harvey Dent, and the bravery of a man who defied gods and the courage he displayed to save his friends, even if it meant sacrificing his own._

_I for one thank Harvey Dent for his extraordinary contributions to this world, and hope that he is in a peaceful place...he's more than earned it._

_ - Clark Kent. _

"There you go, thought you might like to hear it," said Clark, tossing the newspaper onto a desk and sitting back into a chair. "Goes into print tomorrow."

"I like it," Diana said kindly, sliding out of from behind her massive desk. "If only it wasn't the whitest lie on Earth...you don't mention J'onn, by the way."

"He was practically non-existent during the trials," Clark said, shrugging. "And when he left for Mars...I figured no one would notice."

"Have you heard from him?" Diana said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "I haven't spoken to him in over a year—want some?" she added, holding up a cup.

Clark gave a short nod. "Please. And I haven't spoken to him since he came down for the twin's birthday." Clark grinned, "Remember that?"

"I remember," Diana said with a laugh. "His head floated up from the cake the second William tried to blow out the candles. Cream and sugar?"

"Yeah. How are they?"

"They're happy," Diana said, handing Clark the coffee and sitting on the desk. "Emma is definitely showing signs of power, she nearly shattered Alfred's rib cage when she hugged him."

Clark sipped the coffee. "Will isn't showing signs?"

"Nothing physical," she said easily, "But you should see his brains, he's top of his class and all he does is read at home, and he just _knows _when someone is lying to him—he definitely didn't get that from me."

Clark grinned. "No, I don't think he did. Alfred doing ok?"

"Old but vibrant." Diana said truthfully, sipping at the coffee. "He's getting older in age, but whenever the kids are around, his face lights up like a Christmas tree, you'd think he's 21," she said, smiling fondly. "Have you seen Shayera yet?"

"Briefly." said Clark. "She just got back from Thanagar, and she won't even take a day off from work."

"Workaholic," Diana grinned. "I can relate."

"I bet. You're wearing slacks and a blazer..." Clark sighed sadly. "You've become one of us."

"Where as you still wear those shabby rags." Diana mused. "What does Lois have to say about that?"

"_She _doesn't say much." Clark said, annoyed. "But _Kara_ got it into Laura's head that I'm dressing like a professional hobo—so that's my name around the house, _Profohobo_."

Diana groaned in sympathy. "It must be hectic, two girls, one's 16, the other is 6."

Clark smiled tiredly and waved a hand. "They're worth it. Kara wants to move out, she says she can, and I am quoting directly, 'handle the trouble of keeping out of trouble.'" Clark held up his fingers as quotation marks in the air, "I mean the girl can't remember to not fly or keep her strength in check."

"She's only been here for two years," Diana said reasonably, "It took me the better of five years to learn out all this Earth nonsense."

"Speaking of nonsense." Clark said, pointing to the room around them. "How do you not go crazy behind a desk all day?"

"It's actually not that bad. I'm only here three days a week, and that is to sign papers and show my face at meetings—Lucius is the brains behind all this."

"Ah..." Clark checked his watch. "Do you have time to grab a bite to eat?"

Diana slid off the desk cheerily. "Have you ever been to _La Palma_?"

"By Lasalle Street!?" breathed Clark, taken back. "But that's impossible to get in; you need a month in advance to get a reservation—"

"I _own_ the place." Diana said smugly. "C'mon, let's get cracking, I'm picking up the kids today."

"Steve is at work?" Clark said, confused, hurrying down to her. "I thought he was off duty now."

"He isn't on the front lines anymore, he's a Colonel," she said simply, "He is the one ordering people into the front lines."

"Ahh...and how is he doing?" Clark asked.

"Great," she said honestly, smiling warmly. "He's seeing more of the kids now, so they're happy about that."

They stopped in front of an Elevator, Clark pushed the button and looked at Diana for a moment, he smiled appreciatively. "He's a great guy."

Diana sighed contentedly. "Yes he is."

They shared a brief silence, the steady murmur of the elevator filling in their thoughts. Clark blinked a few times, staring at the elevator door before saying, "You going to see him today?"

Diana smiled to herself and looked sideways at Clark. "Yes...yes I am."

The elevator opened and they both walked in.

At the far corner of Gotham City's upper-class palisades, a sleek and streamlined grey BMW pulled into the driveway of a grandfatherly mansion that stood proud and erect, surrounded by equally eye pleasing homes. The driveway's pebbles grumbled beneath the tires, the soft steady quiver of the engine filled the peaceful and quiet afternoon air. Diana killed the engine and gripped a small black suitcase before opening the door and sliding out of the car. Immediately two small blurs blindsided her legs the second she closed the door.

"_MOM!" _shrieked one voice.

"_MOTHER!" _shouted another.

Diana laughed and crouched down to the two small delights at her knees. As soon as she was in reach they flung their arms around her neck and jumped ecstatically at the spot. Diana grinned and pulled their arms back before they accidently smothered her in their enthusiasm. She pulled her hair away from face and took one good look at her pair of twins: William Prince and Emma Diana Prince. There was no doubt that they were Diana' kids, they inherited her raven glossy hair, slightly curly with Emma and wavy with Will, both received her almond-shaped eyes, as well as her straight nose...the only things they hadn't clearly inherited were her eyes and chin, because both their parents had sharp cheeks, and they took after their father's eyes. But besides that, if Diana didn't know any better, she was looking at miniature clones of herself.

"Mom! Mom!" Emma shrieked fanatically, bubbling with joy as she walked alongside her mom to their home. "I jumped up in the air and I stayed there for twoseconds, _two seconds_!"

William sighed exasperatedly, as if he had thoroughly explained this all day. "Forgive her Mother, she still doesn't know basic math. It was .02 seconds Emma,_ not two seconds_—you weren't flying, you were Isaac Newtoning."

Emma acted liked she didn't hear her brother and leaned into her mother, her eyes huge. "_Two seconds_, Mom_..."_

William rolled his eyes and looked ready to continue into another exaggerated tangent before Diana burst out laughing. "You guys are too much for me," she said as they entered their home. " Is Dad home?"

"Father?" William said, puffing his chest out importantly, "He is home, we were examining military strategies together when you—"

"You mean he was making cookies while you kept asking him annoying questions," Emma said in a bored voice. "I could practically hear Dad snoozing from upstairs."

Before William could retort, a warm and amused voice said, "Now, now Emma, you shouldn't be mean to your brother."

Steve Trevor came striding out of a kitchen the size of a small house, dressed in a white apron that proudly displayed _Natural Born Griller _in red letters. He was man above average height and had the body of an athlete; mildly thick forearms and slim build. He had grey eyes, sandy blonde hair, and a ruggedly handsome face, he could have passed for a motorcycle rebel, with his gruff beard and streak of grey flitted alongside his sideburns, if not for the way he carried himself; he walked with an easy grace, his eyes were friendly and he had a genuinely warm smile... and then there was the fact that he had a completely unnecessary, but amusing, fluffy White Chef Hat bouncing on his head.

"I was just saying that you were bothering him." Emma said obviously. "Who wants to bake and answer dumb questions?"

"Those weren't dumb questions!" said William defensively, his face quickly reddening. "Father is a Colonel and he values the import—"

"Of course your Father cares, William," said Diana gently. "But right now isn't the time to argue. You and sister go upstairs and get ready. We're going to visit Alfred."

"_Alfred!"_ screamed Emma, scrambling up the staircase with joy, "Oh I can't wait, I wonder if he'll bake those cookies again and..." Her voice faded as she went up to her room. Diana smiled at her daughter's reaction before looking down curiously at William, who didn't seem nearly as overjoyed at her sister, he was actually looking down at the floor, depressed.

"Something wrong, bud?" Steve asked gently, noticing Will's reaction as well.

Will shook his head at the ground. Steve and Diana traded a look before Steve crouched down to Will's level. "You don't want to visit Alfred?" he asked quietly.

Will silently nodded his head. Steve slowly reached out to Will's shoulder and gripped his reassuringly. "Do you want to tell me why?"

Will slowly raised his head glanced hesitantly into his father's eyes. Steve grinned. "I'll take you out for ice-cream later," he offered.

"Ice-cream is bad for me, you know..." Will said faintly. He looked up at his father before his face spilt into a mischievous smile. "I get two scoops!"

Steve and Diana both snorted. "That's my boy! Getting his money's worth..." Steve chuckled, his grey eyes shining. "So what's up, pal?"

William, with the promise of ice-cream, looked suddenly more confident, he said, "Alfred doesn't like me."

Diana frowned down at her son. "What?" she said, complete disbelief in her voice. "No he doesn't; he loves you! You and Emma!"

"He loves _Emma_," said Will factually, "He always smiles at her and laughs with _her_, but when he's with _me_...he gets all...sad." he said, shrugging.

"How you figure that?" Steve said mildly. "He doesn't laugh at your jokes?"

"No, Dad, he just..."Will visibly struggled to find the right words, "...he just gets all depressed. He laughs and smiles with me, but it's just an act. Every time I see him he gets sad and quickly covers it up...maybe he hates seeing me," he added gloomily, staring at the floor.

Diana waved this off and about to cut in when Steve, with one quick glance at her, cut in, "Listen bud, Alfred doesn't hate you...believe me, he actually loves you...you and your sister are probably the two people he loves most in this world."

"How do you know?" Will said quietly, looking up at his dad doubtfully. "You're never there when we go visit him."

"Because I don't want to cut into his time with you guys," he said plainly.

William arched his eyebrow, "Mom's always there, she doesn't have a problem with it," he pointed out. "I'm sure Alfred wouldn't mind with you there."

"Alfred and your Mother are old friends." Steve said, "I wouldn't want to infringe on that."

"But you'll allow her kids to infringe on it?" Will said, "C'mon Dad, every adult knows that adults are better guests than kids."

Steve snorted and shook his head, amused. "There should be a rule, you're too smart for your age."

William grinned half-heartedly, "You know something don't you?"

Steve sighed and looked up to Diana, she shrugged. She didn't know what to say either. Steve sighed and looked back to Will. "Ok, I do know something, but—"

"I'll give back my ice-cream cones if you tell me!" William said quickly. Steve let out a bark of laughter.

"You truly do try and get your money's worth," he said, laughing. "But I can't tell you that."

William looked crestfallen. Steve looked up at Diana and then back to Will. "Listen William, you understand my job pretty well right? How I'm told top-secret information?"

Will shrugged. "I guess."

"And do you know why I can't tell people that information?"

William eyed his father for a moment. "Because it's your important...because it's dangerous..."

"Exactly!" Steve said, "And I can't let people know things that might endanger them, not until they're ready to use them."

"You know something about Alfred and I that is dangerous?" William said skeptically.

"No, it's not dangerous." Steve said. "But, would I have allowed you to use the kitchen stove as a baby?"

"What? No." William said, confused at the sudden change in subject. "Because that would be—"

"_Dangerous_," Steve said, smiling. "A kitchen stove to a baby is dangerous. But to you and me? It's useful...it's still dangerous," he said admittedly, "but we understand it and understand how to use it."

"But how is information on Alfred as dangerous as a kitchen stove!?"

Steve's eye twinkled delightedly. "You're too young to understand."

"But, Dad—"

"No, no, no. I've already told you too much. Go and get ready like your sister."

Will groaned in defeat and marched away, muttering under his breath. Steve smiled at Will's image for a second before standing up and turning to Diana.

"How'd I do?" he offered, walking up to her and grabbing her by waist with a wolfish grin. "Did I pass?"

"You did brilliantly, Chef Colonel Trevor," she smirked, glancing up to the chef hat on his head. "How was work?"

He shrugged. "It was work. Signed some papers, wrote some letters...busy day."

Diana frowned. "Same with me...you sound miserable behind a desk."

Steve sighed. "I am. I know I shouldn't be, because I'm safe...but I won't say I don't miss it, being out there with the guys...but I wouldn't go back, I wouldn't put Will and Emma through that."

"You would wouldn't you?" Diana said, "You'd really stay for them?"

"Of course," Steve said, as if Diana was out of her mind. "I've written enough death letters...I wouldn't want to put you and the kids through that."

"You're amazing, you know," she said warmly, "A great man...and an even better Dad."

"You're not bad yourself, supermom." He said grinning, "Now are you going to kiss me yet? Or do I have to use one of my signature cookies as a bargaining chip?"

Diana laughed. "You aren't as good of a cook as you think," she murmured as she leaned in and kissed him.

"_EWWW!"_

"_YUCKK!"_

Diana and Steve broke apart, laughing, and together they turned to their kids. They were dressed in Sunday Church going clothes.

"There's going to be a day when you guys are doing a bit of kissing of your own." Diana said smugly.

"And believe me, you aren't going to be saying 'yuk' either." Steve added.

"_As if!_" Emma said repulsively, "That is so gross!"

"All the germs that are passed, and the bacteria that could fester, and the..."William trailed off, horrified.

Steve rummaged in his apron and retrieved four tickets. "You know what else is gross?" he said, waving the tickets in the air. "Four tickets to the recital of _Mark of Zorro_."

William, dressed in a t-shirt and pants, shrieked. "_THE MARK OF ZORRO!"_

Emma eyed her brother oddly, "What's the big deal?"

William stared at his sister. "_What's the big deal!? _C'mon! Are you serious! It's on the top 10 plays of—"

"I've never heard of it. I've heard of Shakespeare, but not—"

"Shakespeare is overrated."

"Not to our English teacher, Mrs. Warren, she says that—"

"Mrs. Warren has horrible taste and—"

"Ok guys." Diana said quickly. "We're going to finish this conversation in the car."

"_The Car!?"_ William said horrified, "We can't leave yet, I need to get dressed! I need to be presentable and do my hair and ..." and his voice trailed off as he soared up the stairs and disappeared.

"Should I get dressed too?" Emma asked tiredly. "Is it that important?"

Diana nodded. "It's a dinner jacket event; go dressed like we're going to a wedding."

Emma sighed heavily. "That's two hours on my hair..." And she dragged herself up the stairs.

Diana turned to Steve and playfully hit his chest, "Ok, cookie boy, no play time. If we're going to a play, I need to get dressed."

Steve grinned wolfishly. "It's ok, I need to go pick a tux anyway, it's been awhile since we got dressed up—meet you at the Manor?"

"You got it."

_Three Hours Later._

"Would you two stop fighting back there!?" Diana yelled as the pulled up the driveway. Her kids were in the backseat of the BMW. William, dressed in a fit black tux, was fidgeting with his tie and hair, which was now sleeked back in true gentleman fashion, Emma was dressed in a glowing purple dress with white heels, her hair in a tight bun. Diana was in a flowing gown of light hazel, her raven hair curling down to her chest, and her black heels were making it very hard to drive.

"Mom, do you think Alfred will want to come with us!" William said excitedly, "Dad could buy another ticket and him and I could talk about all the—"

"You're just going to bore him, Willy," Emma said, "Please don't bring it up, he'll just get bored and he won't talk to us again and—"

"That's enough," Diana said frimly, "Remember, what do you do when you go in?"

"Touch nothing. Remember your manners. Always say please and thank-you." The twins recited monotonously. "Don't speak unless spoken to first."

"Good." Diana said, "Now let's go see Grandpa Alfred."

The immaculately dressed trio stepped out of the car and began up the massive Manor's steps. Diana was vividly reminded of the photos from Kara Zor-El's prom night, everyone dressed in their best, posing in front of the rich manor, Alfred smiling along with the young faces.

They walked up to the massive doors, and there was a small note attacthced.

_To my beloved Diana, Emma, and William,_

_I am currently in the Manor, preparing a few things. I cordially invite you to enter and make yourselves at home, there is a fresh roast in the oven if you are hungry, and the fridge and cabinets are at your complete service. _

_I will be with you shortly._

_-Your humblest servant, Alfred. _

As soon as Diana finished speaking, both William and Emma raced passed her and into the Manor, she could hear laughing and running echoing inside until they faded into the massive rooms and halls of Wayne Manor. Diana stepped inside and closed the door, her heart thumping nervously, it always did when she came back here.

She walked around a bit, in the ten years that she'd first walked into Bruce Wayne's home, she was always surprised about the many niches and rooms that she hadn't yet explored...but after ten years, she could walk through this place blindfolded, because ten years ago, she had brought the torn remains of Bruce Wayne, and as Alfred cleaned the body, after adamantly telling her that it was no way her fault, she had wandered the empty rooms and halls for what could have been an eternity...she remembered that day so well...

_Ten years earlier._

She wasn't tired, despite defeating the great Darkseid and an army of thugs. She wasn't hungry, despite not eating in hours. She wasn't thirsty, despite not drinking a drop for hours...There was absolutely zero discomfort in Diana's mind, so there should have been zero reason for any sense of hollow and emptiness.

But there it was, numbing her of everything around her. She could distantly hear birds chirping and cars honking, but it made no difference. Nothing did. Because as she landed onto the stone steps of Wayne Manor, nothing was going to change the fact that she was carrying the corpse of Bruce Wayne. She couldn't bear to look at him, because even though his eyes were closed and a small smile on his face, he wasn't there, he wasn't sleeping, he wasn't smiling. She opened the door slowly, and slowly entered the dark and unlit antechamber. In the distance she could hear a fire cracking, and she could hear light breathing, almost as if the person was gently snoozing. She dragged herself in, staining the immaculate wooden floor and rugs with ash and blood, she knew she could fly, and it would have been polite...but she couldn't, almost as if her powers refused to work in this majestically quiet place.

She walked into the grand living room and her eyes immediately flushed with tears and her stomach burned with guilt, because there they were, Thomas and Martha Wayne, smiling contently over the fire place, and a small Bruce Wayne was in between them, smiling and glowing. They were glaring at her, disappointed and angry that she failed. She was a god, an immortal, and she couldn't do the simple task of keeping their son alive. He was lying there in her arms and it was her fault. Because he was only human, she should have been able to speed forward and stop Dent, she could have jumped in front of Bruce, she could have stopped it...all of it...she could have been there the night Thomas and Martha died...

"May I have a look at him?" asked a soft and gentle voice behind her.

Diana froze immediately, and her eyes blurred and burned. She knew she should turn around, but she couldn't. She was rooted at the spot, and her arms started to shake, which was ridiculous because she had the strength of a god...but then again, that strength proved useless tonight...

"He loved you, you know," the voice said cheerfully. "You should have seen his face when talked about you. Everything was irrelevant; the crime stats, the murders, the family company. Everything went immediately out of the picture whenever the name Diana was brought up—he denied it of course. He would tell me, 'Alfred, I don't have time for a relationship; Alfred, I don't find her attractive; Alfred she is just a colleague; Alfred, I just wanted to check up on their well-being, she was just the first person the cameras found'... you were always on his mind...even after Rachel's death...he threw her letter in the fire the night you two were together...said it didn't matter to him..."

Diana was still frozen, staring at the crackling fire.

"He was always a stubborn boy, even before his parent's deaths..." Alfred said quietly and he laughed as a sudden thought came to him. "Did you know," he chuckled, "when he was a child, Master Bruce once sat in his room for three hours and built the most elaborate stool chair out of pencils, all because I set the sweetened milk at the top of the refrigerator...he did so because he was certain that I would hide all the other conventional stools..."Alfred said fondly, "He was always extraordinary...his father would say it often...as would William, before he passed...he was always fond of young Bruce..."

Diana blinked a few times, she couldn't look away from the fire, she couldn't face Alfred...

"And then...one day, when he was barely a man...he left...and I never heard from him. Those days I remember best because each day was exactly the same...wake up...make myself a breakfast, clean what needed cleaning...dust what needed dusting...lunch...tend the gardens...tend to their graves...dinner...a good book with a bit of wine...sleep...and then do it all again...It went on like that for ten years..."

Diana sniffed a few times. The fire crackled.

"When he returned...I hardly recognized him...he had changed so much, his face, his eyes, his body. He was a man now, but the greatest change, and the one that I noticed immediately, was his eyes; they were still that delightful shade of hazel, but darker and sharper...and then the days blurred again...wake up...breakfast...dust...clean...but there was new chore now," Alfred said with a small laugh, "And that was wake Master Bruce, at 3'oclock in the afternoon...and we'd chat for a bit, then he'd eat breakfast, for me lunch, and then he'd be off to some errand...when he returned, it was a quick snack and off to the cave and Gotham, where I didn't see him for hours and hours. Then, in the middle of the night, or sometimes at the crack of dawn, he'd burst in through that waterfall and climb out looking like a badly butchered steak...and we'd chat about the evening...I'd tidy him up, and we'd sleep...and then the day started again...and in all those years, I always dreaded him never coming home."

Diana immediately stiffened.

"Every night...I wondered if he'd come home...I would busy myself with washing dishes and folding clothes and cleaning...I would dread that he would never burst through that waterfall, that I would turn the T.V. on and there he was, on Gotham City News...his body sprawled on the ground, beaten by thugs, dead and wasted...and so now, as you enter this room with his body, one of my greatest fears has been vanquished...that I would have nothing left to bury...I am truly thankful, Princess Diana of Themyscira."

This, if anything, shocked Diana into forgetting to breath.

"I thank you for returning him to his home, at the risk of your life, and I'll leave you in peace. Please, should you feel hungry or tired, or wish to use the Manor's facilities, please...this is your home...I will be in the gardens if you leave me."

And Diana heard his body turn and footsteps. "Wait," she said suddenly, "Alfred..." She heard his footsteps cease and he waited silently. She blinked a few more times and inhaled deeply, her heart hammering as if it wanted to burst out her chest. She slowly turned around.

Alfred was dressed like he always was; slim suits and casual dress shoes. He was smiling, and it wasn't forced or fake...he looked happy to see her, and the single tear that was running down his right cheek didn't look sad at all.

Diana slowly walked to him and she stood a foot away, at this range she could see the lines and cracks in Alfred's face. She could see the reflection of the fire crackling in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said started slowly, staring at Alfred's nose. "I wasn't fast enough and—"

Alfred calmly reached out and placed a hand on her cheek, "It is not your fault, my dear, nor is it mine. There is no use in passing along the blame stick."

Diana had no reply to this, she stayed silent and looked down to Bruce's face. Alfred looked down with her and gently soothed Bruce's hair. "Did he die with his eyes closed? With that smile?" Alfred said calmly.

Diana nodded slowly.

"Then he went peacefully." Alfred sighed contently, "And that is a gift of its own...I shall like to dress him now, if that is alright with you?"

Diana quickly looked up and nodded. "Yes...that is fine...I'm sorry I didn't give him to you earlier and—"

But Alfred merely touched her shoulder, "I would have thought less of you had you not." Diana smiled half-heartedly and slowly lowered Bruce into Alfred's arms. She thought that he might groan under the combined weight of Bruce and the armor, but Alfred, in another surprise, never even blinked. He gently turned and walked away with Bruce's body delicately floating in his hands.

Diana didn't know how long she stood there before she couldn't stand the eye of Thomas and Martha on her neck, all she knew was that soon she was drifting through the manor, the wood creaked underneath her feet as she explored further and further, and it seemed that there was no end to Bruce's home. The manor was filled with questions that she had never asked Bruce...Where did you get that vase...Who painted that portrait...Did your Dad like this room...Did you ever get lost in this place...is it lonely here?

Before she knew, she had arrived at the entrance to the gardens, through the glass the green pasture seemed to extend for miles, flower beds and majestic trees flowered delightedly here and there, illuminated in beautiful white naked moonlight. She walked from flowerbed to tree to statue to flowerbed, the cool night whistling in her ears as she picked roses and lilacs and orchids...she never felt closer to Amazon Island, it was beautiful here...and then, with a bundle of flowers in her arms, she walked to the part of the garden that she was ignoring...where Alfred and a Tall Black man were gently carrying a long coffin over their shoulders.

His name was Lucius Fox, and he was a friend of Bruce. Alfred explained that is was Lucius who had devised Bruce's machinery, and it was he who ran Wayne Enterprises...Diana didn't really care, because she had to explain to them what had happened. It was torture, repeating everything, her guts burned at each word and her eyes went blurry with each breath...but she told them everything. The sun was beginning to rise when she finished, and the light stroked the ground in a way that shined brilliantly off the headstone she had somehow failed to see. Turning toward the white marble stone, she read the words engraved over the resting places of Bruce's parents.

**Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne**

_Thomas, Born: 22 October 1955 _

_Died: 31 December 1988_

_Martha, Born: 15 May 1957__  
_

_Died: 31 December 1988_

_In the great battle of Life, Death may conquer all in the end, but if one lived, laughed and loved, was there a battle to be fought all?_

"Bruce chose it," Alfred said quietly. "He said it was something his father would have said."

Diana smiled, she had never met Thomas in her life, but from the portrait hanging in the manor, it did seem something like the kind-faced Thomas Wayne would say.

Together, they had gently lowered Bruce into a grave between two patches of grass that seemed ordinary and completely ignorant to the treasure they held within. It was a quiet affair, just the three of them, with Lucius speaking a few words about Bruce. She wasn't listening much, but she caught a few words, "Loved...Just...Brave...Extraordinary..." and she grew angry, because what Lucius was saying wasn't enough. Those words didn't explain just how incredible Bruce Wayne was, how awe inspiring he was. How a man worked wonders that baffled Gods and the Gods of Gods...he should go down in history, they should build monuments to his name, every child in the world should grow up with the famous legend of Bruce Wayne and how he became The Dark Knight...

But they wouldn't, Diana sighed, looking over the green pasture, there should be millions lined up, millions of people clamoring to see the final resting place of Bruce Wayne, millions whispering and hushing about The Dark Knight, and the horrible tragedy that befell his family...but they wouldn't...the world would stay ignorant, and Bruce Wayne would disappear into the pages of history...

"That picture was taken a year before their deaths," said a quiet voice behind her.

Diana jumped and snapped out of her thoughts, she was standing in the living room, in her trance she must have somehow drifted into it. She turned around, there was Alfred again, dressed in his sharp suit and casual dress shoes, looking considerably older, but his eyes twinkled with the youth of a child. He gazing at the picture above the fireplace, where the Wayne Family, dressed their best, were smiling down at the two of them, and Diana was no longer afraid of looking into the eyes of Thomas and Martha Wayne, because that was ten years ago...

"Alfred!" Diana said warmly, rushing over to the charming butler and snatching him into an enormous hug, "It has been too long."

"Indeed, my dear," he said happily, hugging her equally back. "Indeed it has." She kissed him before stepping back, and Alfred beamed at her dress. "You look absolutely wonderful! Has my age finally caught up with me and now there is a wedding that I've forgotten?"

"No, Alfred." Diana laughed. "We're going to see a play after this, Steve has bought us tickets to _The Mark of Zorro_."

"Ah..." Alfred said. "Thomas considered that particular title, but he instead chose the Opera. I hear it is an excellent choice."

"Would you like to accompany us?" Diana said kindly, "Steve could easily purchase another ticket."

Alfred shook his head sadly, "Unfortunately I cannot, and that brings me to something I wished to speak to you about."

"What's up?" Diana said.

"As you know my dearest, Diana...I am getting on in age." Alfred said quietly, "It is not regret that I feel toward this manor, but I do feel that the time for me to move on is now...it has been ten years that I've waited, and I feel that is long enough."

"You mean...leave the manor for good?" Diana said surprised, because she had never even heard Alfred leave the Manor for a second.

"Indeed, your highness." Alfred said, "I am going on permanent holiday...and I'm afraid I shall not be coming back."

"Wow...I just never thought you'd actually leave..."Diana said slowly. "You've never left and..."

Alfred smiled, "I searched for my Father for ten years...I waited for Bruce to return for ten years...and now I've spent ten happy years caring for his legacy...it is time for a change."

Before Diana could speak, loud voices broke into the room. "_Hey William! They're over here! It's the room we've never been in!"_

"_Cool!"_

And before Diana could cut in, Emma rushed into the study, glowing in her dress, and the minute she laid eyes on Alfred she threw herself around his neck.

"GRANDPA ALFRED!" she shrieked, all but dangling from Alfred's neck, "Look how tall I am!"

Alfred was laughing and grinning, supporting the child with the strength of a man much younger than him. He threw Emma into the air and she bubbled with delight, and it was only after she realized the room she entered did she quiet down.

"Wow..." she said as her eyes roamed the living room. "Mom, how come you've never let us in here? It's so big and cool..."

"_What's so cool Emma?_" said another voice from the doorway. Together, they all turned and to the image of William, holding a cookie in his hand, dressed in his tuxedo and his hair gelled back, gazing curiously back at them. "What's so cool?" he repeated mildly.

But Diana wasn't paying attention, she was looking at Alfred, who looked as if a sword pierced his abdomen.

"Oh my..." Alfred said faintly, blinking at William. "...If I didn't know any better, somebody I knew long ago just walked into this room."

But Will didn't reply, nor did he seem particularly troubled by Alfred's reaction, because William was staring at something directly above them all.  
"Who is that boy?" William said, frowning slightly, "The boy in the picture..."

Diana looked up to the image, there was the 8-year old Bruce Wayne, hazel eyes glowing, smiling down at them in a tux and his hair sleeked back...exactly like William.

"He looks..." William said slowly, blinking confused. "He looks...kind of like _me_...he has the same hair...and we have the same eyes..."

"That's Bruce Wayne." said Alfred, a small smile on his face. "He was my son."

"Your son?" Emma said, "That's you in that picture? That man?"

"Oh no." Alfred said, "No no no, that was Bruce's father...but he died, and then I became Bruce's father."

"Do I know him?" William said sharply, "Is he my cousin or something?"

"I'm afraid not." Alfred said sadly, "Bruce died a few years ago."

"Oh..." William said quietly. "I'm sorry...I just thought...we look alike...that's why."

"Would you like to see his grave?" Diana said suddenly, and Alfred glanced quickly at her, because she never had allowed them to see Bruce's grave. They had always stayed in the manor while she quietly walked to the gardens.

"Um...ok," William said, still glancing hesitantly at the Wayne portrait. "If there's time..."

"Wonderful!" Alfred said happily, and he strode out of the room. "I'll prepare the way."

Emma glanced at her brother and then back up at the picture, "He does have our eyes...I've never met anyone with brownish eyes."

"Hazel," Will corrected, forgetting to sound annoyed and still looking at the portrait. "They're called Hazel, Emma."

"C'mon guys, let's not leave Alfred waiting." Diana said gently, ushering them toward the door. Will practically tore his eyes away and turned to his mother, following her along with his sister toward the gardens.

"Did you know him, mom?" Will asked earnestly, looking up at Diana. "Did you know Bruce Wayne?"

"Not really," she said simply, "I met him a few times, and he gave me and Uncle Clark a gift, but that was it."

"Do you know how he died?" he said curiously.

Diana was glad that William was so small because she knew that her face must have flinched. "I'm not really sure, it was an accident I think."

"Did you work with him?"

Diana frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"You work at Wayne Enterprises...his last name is _Wayne_..."

Diana snorted, her son was truly too smart for his own good. "That was the gift I said he gave Uncle Clark and I...he gave us his company."

"That was nice of him..." William said, and he looked down at his hand, as if he was examining with new interest. "Was he a nice person?" he said without looking up.

"_There they are!" _

They all looked up at Alfred, who was standing by the entrance to the gardens, beaming at them. "C'mon, it's this way." He waved over, "It's a beautiful walk."

And together they moved into the gardens, passing flowers and statues and trees all alike. Alfred was taking them through the long route, and Diana had no problem with it. The kids were hanging onto Alfred's every words as he described how and where a flower or plant came from, and how many years it took him to attain such a beautiful environment. Diana half-listened because she was deep in her own thoughts, and she was mindlessly picking flowers at the same time. Finally, after almost crashing into Emma, did she realize that they stopped, and she looked down at the marble headstone of Thomas, Martha, and Bruce Wayne; gone were the dates informing birth and death, and gone was the old inscription. It now simply read,

**Torn apart on December 31, 1988**

**Reunited on July 15th, 2012**

_Together, we part this life, and consciously leave a better world in our wake._

Diana gently laid the flowers of the headstone, a gentle evening breeze lifting her hair as she kissed her fingers and gently touched the cold marble. Behind her, Alfred silently wiped a tear from his eye.

"Did they leave a better world behind them?" Emma asked Alfred, looking at the headstone. "After they died?"

"They did, Emma." Alfred said proudly, "They did indeed."

"How were they torn apart?" said Will, "What happened?"

"Something bad, Will." Diana whispered, still gazing down at the headstone. "Something an old friend of mine spent his entire life making sure would never happen again."

"Do you miss Bruce, Alfred?" William said suddenly to Alfred.

"Everyday, Master William." Alfred said. "Everyday."

"Do you Mom?" Emma asked.

Diana didn't try to wipe the tear that ran down her cheek. _If only you knew how much Bruce..._

"Not really," Diana said, "I didn't know him too well...now why don't you guys go inside and wash up, Dad will be here soon."

Emma nodded happily, and took off toward the manor, picking flowers cheerily along the way. William stayed back, looking at the headstone curiously.

"Something wrong, Master William?" Alfred said.

Will shook his head, "No...I just wanted to know...was Bruce a nice person? He seemed nice in the photo..."

Alfred smiled. "He was nice, Master Will...a very nice person."

"No he wasn't," Diana said suddenly, much to the surprise of Will and Alfred. She turned to her son and crouched down to his eyesight, "Do you want to know a secret?" she whispered.

Will nodded enthusiastically, he liked secrets. Diana looked up at Alfred, who was smiling, and she turned back to Will, leaning in.

"You can't tell anyone. It's top-secret, like Dad's work."

William's eyes went huge. "Ok ok!" he whispered.

Diana made a show of looking surreptitiously from side to side before cupping her hands and whispering, "Bruce Wayne once saved my life," she said impressively.

Will's eyes threatened to pop out of their eye sockets. "Woah...really?"

"Really," she confirmed, "He did...but don't tell anyone, ok? Because it's a secret."

William nodded enthusiastically, his chest puffing with such top-secret knowledge. "I won't say a thing." And he bounded off to the manor, catching up with his sister in buoyant fashion.

Diana stood up and watcher her son and daughter laughing and jumping with delight, completely unaware they had just visited their father's grave.

"Am I doing the right thing, Alfred?" she said, staring after them. "Keeping this from them."

"Only time will tell." Alfred said simply, walking up to her side and watching the children from afar. "But I think it's safe to say that it's a life Bruce would have loved for his kids...they're happy Diana, and one day you and Steve will finally have to tell them...if young William doesn't figure it out first," he added, chuckling.

"Do you think he knew?" she said, turning to Alfred, "He gave me his company, after all...he gave me the manor...everything."

Alfred shook his head vigorously, "Had he known you were with child, you would have never even stepped foot in that building, and he would have stubbornly shouted down Death's calling before he left his own son and daughter to grow up without him...I think he was preparing for the worst...just like he always did."

"It certainly came as a surprise." She said, grinning. "It was the first time I ever vomited, and it was hell to explain to my mother."

Alfred winced. "That was the first and last time I should ever try and reason with an Amazonian Queen," Alfred shuddered, "My theory stands confirmed—all mother's react the same, royalty or not."

Diana laughed. "Do you think she'll want to see them? She practically banished me from taking up a mortal partner—especially such a promiscuous one."

"She's still a mother," Alfred said simply, his eyes twinkling. "And my theory works both ways...one day she'll forgive you, and she'll be overjoyed to see her grandkids...I know I was."

A car horn blared in the distance.

"That must be Steve," Diana said, "We're going to a play."

"Ah. Colonel Steve Trevor," Alfred said wisely. "Have you two considered having children of your own?"

Diana shrugged. "We've talked about it, but I'm perfectly fine with these two and Steve says that he's the happiest Dad on Earth."

"Do you believe him?" Alfred asked gently.

Diana inhaled deeply and smiled. "Yeah," she said truthfully, "I really do...they're practically his own kids, he loves them just as much. And he doesn't want to appear rude, so that's why he doesn't come over here and—"

"Ah, Your Highness." Alfred said warmly, "Believe me, I harbor no negativity to Master Trevor...in fact, his is a plight I'm entirely too familiar with."

Diana frowned for a moment before smiling in disbelief, "That's right, isn't it?" she said, staring at Alfred with a new light. "You aren't Bruce's dad, yet you treated him like—"

"My son." Alfred said with a nod. "I never presumed, and I never wished to overstep my boundary...but it was there...and Bruce knew it...Steve will make a great father," he assured firmly.

Diana grinned at the old face in front of her, "I'm going to miss you Alfred, you better write wherever you are."

Alfred look offended. "Of course my dear, I wouldn't think anything else..." his eyes drifted toward the Manor, "What will you do with her?"

"It's mine, isn't it?" she said, gazing at the giant manor. "After you leave there'll be no one residing in it."

"Correct." Alfred said, "I would hope you might hire another Butler, prevent vandalism and theft, because we both know there are _quite_ a few valuable things locked away that would do no good should a thief happen upon them."

Diana closed her eye and her mind went back to that night, ten years ago, where she and Bruce had spent a night together, where everything seeming like it was going to be ok, how Bruce had held her and told her about the night he lost his parents,

_I wanted someone to let me know it was going to be ok..._

Diana opened her eyes and looked back at the mansion. "An orphanage. For the city." she said. "For the kids who don't have a home."

Alfred smiled. "Bruce would have liked that."

Together, Diana and Alfred walked away from the burial ground of The Wayne Family, and into the Wayne Manor for the last time, turning off the lights of the rooms one by one, until they reached the antechamber, where Diana alone lingered as Alfred hurried out to meet Steve, ushering the kids into the car.

"We did it, Bruce," she said to the quiet room, "We did it. It's over..."

"I know you're happy now."

She switched off the light and closed the door, listening to the deep lock thud into place before she turned to the car at the drive-way, to Steve's grinning face, to the delighted faces of her kids, where Alfred was at the door of a Rolls-Royce, tipping a bowler hat in her direction. She slipped into the car seat and they drove off to the play, fully aware that they were driving in a city that owed its life to Bruce Wayne, and that the city would never say thank-you.

And that's just how Bruce would have liked it. Because the day had indeed arrived when Gotham no longer needed Batman, she needed laughter, love, and life, and judging from the shrieks of delight in the back of the car, Diana was sure that Gotham had all three...

Just like the Wayne family, lying under the grass and sky, finally, after 24 years, had all three.


	27. Afterword

Author's Note.

Hey guys, first thing I want to clear up is that I harbor no negative feelings toward any negative or "fierce" reviews, c'mon, I practically thrive on the things. There's a small sense of satisfaction that the ending did what it was supposed to do, and that was to make you feel for the character, feel abit of the pain that Bruce went through, because it wasn't fair. I always approached Batman/Bruce Wayne like this, his parent's death were tragic, they sucked, they were horrible, and it was a burden that seriously affected Bruce throughout his entire life.

One of the things that I do regret was releasing this story chapter by chapter, because it takes on a the sense of a serial storyline where you only remember the previous episode, you can't experience the entire story as a whole, and I think that's where a lot of readers found discomfort. Because I purposefully played heavily on Bruce's connection to his father, if you go back and read the story again, you see that there's a giant connection between his dead parents and his suffering.

That's my next point, I was shocked when people found this ending tragic, because he was finally reunited with his parents, something he longed for since they passed, he died saving the love of his life, and he died saving the city! _That was the whole point of Batman!_

I mean sheesh, I didn't want to write it alarmingly loud, I didn't want a character walking in and saying to the press, "Well he saved the city, that's all he wanted." Bruce never wanted the credit, he never wanted the fame, he just wanted to right his parent's death, I put tons of clues into that, and maybe I could have done a better job explaining that point, but that was the true reward- Bruce is free of the burden of Batman, and he finally is reunited with his parents...doesn't get any better than that.

As for the other deaths, again, if you paid attention, think who were the first people Harvey killed...Flash and Green Lantern...who saved Harvey from the fire? Flash and Green Lantern! Harvey was picking off the people who he blamed for Rachel's deaths, and I know it sucks that I killed off those two characters, but this was a war, and there will always be casualties. I wanted to show the true terrors of war, it isn't always happily ever after. I know you're angry haha, (believe me, I'm still not over Sirius Black's and Hedwig's deaths in Harry Potter) but Batman _did _say that Gotham wasn't a run through the park, and I needed to prove that point.

I know this may seem like a bleak ending, but I was tired of having so many stories where Batman was always the one who got away...he is after all, _only _human. That makes him like us.

As for a sequel...like I said before, there's plenty in TDKR that I could sink my teeth into. I'm not sure when or even if I will write another act, but I think we all agree, and this is the first time where I'll admit that I did something pretty smooth, this ending leaves _plenty_ for me to sink my teeth into if I do continue the story. (Think about it, if Batman returned, think about how much drama there is waiting to happen.)

Over all, I'm extremely happy the way it ended. It's a standalone story, and there's room for a sequel. Thank you for the reviews (good and bad) because they're what makes me a better story-teller. The feedback has been tremendous, and I do hope that you all will consider picking up the pen and writing something of your own!

Special thanks to TheWritingGirl23, The Goddamn Dark Knight, and Mbembet, for sticking since Day 1. I didn't forget you guys, thanks for the support.

It's been fun guys.


	28. Post-Script

I've begun writing the sequel to this story, in case any one is interested, it's titled, "The Grey Paladin's Revolution."

It seems like a waste of a chapter to just post an author's note, so I'll post this small excerpt from the sequel. I won't tell you when it appears, but it is in the following story, enjoy!

* * *

A sword spun in the air.

A tall man fell to the floor with a grunt of surprise.

A nineteen-year old boy, shielded in plain and black armor, held a razor sharp katana above his mentor's throat. The boy's feet were planted firmly on the slippery surface of the frozen lake. The boy carefully flexed his chilled fingers over the handle of his blade.

In the distance, the sword fell and rattled on the ice.

"Yield," breathed Bruce Wayne, grinning foolishly as he stared at his disarmed mentor, lying helpless on the frozen lake's surface.

Henri Ducard laughed, "You haven't beaten me, Bruce. You've sacrificed sure-footing for a killing stroke." And with a swift movement of his arm, Henri struck the ice beneath Bruce's feet, and Bruce Wayne plunged into the frigid Lake.

They were training in the high mountains of the Himalayas, far from urban civilization, where greenery is all but nonexistent, and where the elements choose only the strongest and fiercest people to populate their lands. But, despite the merciless cold, there was a mystic beauty to place; heavenly white snow layered leisurely on mountaintops, and lakes and rivers alike were frozen in place, preserving their majestic roaring rapids as the winter season wrapped its frosty fingers over the lands.

Henri chuckled at the gash in the frozen lake for a moment, where his apprentice unceremoniously vanished underneath. Five seconds went by before he finally sighed and groggily picked himself off the frozen floor. He frowned as he flexed his right hand dubiously,

"I'm getting too old for this..."

And he plunged his hand into the water, grunting as the cold washed over his flesh, the sensation similar to knives stabbing at his skin. As his hand found the helm of Bruce's robes, Henri planted his feet over the gash, and, with a roar that would rival a lion's, he pulled his icicled apprentice out of the water, lumping him onto the surface of the lake. Henri quickly rummaged beneath his own black armor and withdrew a small black vial from his pocket.

"Drink this," Henri said, unstoppering the vial with his teeth and crouching down to Bruce's sputtering form, "You'll catch hypothermia if you don't."

"W—WWhat iss it-t-t?" stuttered Bruce, whose eyelids and lips were white with frost.

Henri pushed the vial to Bruce's lips, "It's what will keep you alive, boy. Drink it."

Bruce eyed his mentor for a moment before tilting his forward and sipping the vial, his trembling lips spilled some of the liquid inside onto his cheeks and clothes. It was bright emerald, instantly absorbing into Bruce's skin the moment it made contact.

Bruce drained the vial whole. He blinked clearly a few times, as if he was a blind man granted new vision.

"How do you feel?" Henri asked carefully, pocketing the empty vial in his robes.

Bruce blinked a few more times, "I feel fine," he said slowly, lifting his head to see his drenched clothing and body, "I don't feel a thing."

Henri nodded contently and cradled Bruce's head firmly, he reached with his other arm under Bruce's legs and lifted his apprentice swiftly, "Good."

"What're you doing?" asked Bruce, fidgeting in Henri's arms as they began to make toward their camp, "I said I felt fine, I can walk."

"Right," Henri said, gripping Bruce a bit firmer in his arms.

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Henri, I feel fine—"But Bruce stopped abruptly, because his body began to tingle, and then it began to feel numb.

"What is going on?" Bruce said quickly, grasping his legs because he could no longer feel them, and then he realized it was because he couldn't feel his arms either. "I can't feel a thing..." and then his body went limp, almost as if his bones themselves had been removed from his body.

The icy world began to spin dramatically.

"I feel...I feel..." muttered Bruce, closing his eyes as his eyelids became anvils.

He heard Henri whisper something or two.

"I didn't hear you, Henri...I...feel..._tired_..."

And then Bruce knew no more.

* * *

Night had fallen, casting the glades into a darkness. The moon offered no light.

In the silence, a fire crackled peacefully.

"Did you know that was going to happen?" Bruce said, his face rosy and waxy from the ice burns, rubbing his arms feverishly despite sitting so close to the fire that his eyelashes could catch aflame.

"I did," said Henri, smiling as he tossed a few more logs into fire. "The drug works like a young and ambitious boy that I know: it surges you with great frenzy at first, overcoming the opponent with roaring energy. But then, when you are standing precariously at victory, when you think you have won the battle, at that pivotal moment, the drug weakens, and your body falls and—"

"And you fall into an icy bath?" Bruce offered.

Henri snorted and Bruce grinned, and the two men broke into laughter, their joyous faces cast in an orange glow as the fire danced between them. After their meal, Bruce drew a cloak and wrapped it around himself, he tossed another to Henri, who caught it with a small smile, turning it over in his hands fondly.

"My wife would knit blankets when she was pregnant," he said, stroking the cloak gently while the fire reflected calmly in his eyes. "She would hum too...she had a beautiful voice."

"My mother did as well," said Bruce, his eyes on the fire, and he refused to blink. "She would sing to me when she put me to sleep..." Bruce cleared his throat and his eyes burned red, "...To be honest, until now, I had forgotten how much I had missed it..."

"You remind me of myself, Bruce, do you know that?" Henri said quietly, gazing into the fire while he stroked the blanket. "I too, suffered at the hands of unjust men...or rather...my wife...suffered."

Bruce stayed quiet, he gazed at the fire.

The fire crackled in the silence.

"Like you, I fear sleep," said Henri, and the fire danced in Henri's eyes, "I fear it because it means seeing her face again, we fear sleep because it means seeing our loved ones again. It means we replay what happened, over and over..._and over..._and yet, despite our screams in the dead of the night, despite how hard we pull at the sheets...we can never change what happened..."

Henri's words were as wispy as the smoke rising from the fire.

Bruce pretended to wipe his nose with his sleeve.

"Mourning our dead is not a sign of weakness, Bruce." Henri said, wrapping cloak around himself, "I have lived with this burden for several lifetimes, and I will tell you a terrible truth...The pain will never lessen, my boy...but you will _numb_ yourself to it, you will _armor_ yourself with it, and when you stumble across another poor soul who has recently suffered at the hands of the world, you will see yourself."

"I see myself when I see you, Bruce." Henri said, "When I see you fight, when I see you eat, when I see you sleep...I see a young man who bears the scars of an elderly warrior who battled hard his entire life."

"I don't have many scars, Henri," Bruce said quietly.

"You have the scars that matter," Henri said, "These scars don't leave marks on the skin, but rather, on the _soul_...and they will never fade, my boy, they never will..."

The wind howled in the distance. Henri tossed more logs into the fire.

"I have trained many young men, like yourself, Bruce" Henri said, shifting the logs with a pair of tongs, "I have seen them march into battle, I have seen them die at the sword, and I have even seen some die a natural death..."

"But...?" Bruce said hoarsely.

Henri looked up to Bruce, and set the tongs on the floor. The two men watched each other without blinking.

"_But_...despite the fact that we have only known each other for a year, you have proven more of a son to me than the men that I have known for fifty years."

Bruce blinked rapidly and he quickly bowed his head, "That is a great honor to hear, sir."

Henri frowned, "Since when have you called me _sir_?"

Bruce raised his head from his bow, a grin on his face. "Since you started calling me _son."_

Henri smiled, "I am serious, Bruce, you will be my greatest student... I can see it."

"Thank you, sir."

Henri nodded silently and stared out into the darkness, he sighed heavily and rubbed his hands together saying, "Now, time for rest. Tomorrow we will test your grappling—and make no mistake, my boy, I expect you at the top of the list."

Bruce didn't miss a beat, "I wouldn't expect anything else, sir."

"There he is," said Henri, a fierce grin on his face. He wrapped the cloak tighter around himself and settled down on a makeshift cot. "One day, when you are ready, we will set out together, Bruce. As maimed souls of this world, we will bring peace..."

Henri closed his eyes and rested his head on a cushion, "As Master and Heir of The League of Shadows, we will bring peace..." he murmured softly, "...as Father and Son, we will bring peace..." and then Henri's soft and gentle breathing filled the air.

The fire crackled. And the wind blew gently.

Bruce didn't sleep that night, tears slid down his cheeks as he stared quietly at Henri's body, the fire cast his silhouette in charcoal and grey shadows.

He had a father again.

* * *

_Hope you guys enjoyed that! Head over to the sequel!_


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